Russian Gas Liquefaction Transferred Secretly at Sea: First Transfer of LNG from “Shadow Fleet” in Open Waters
Moscow has conducted its first-ever ship-to-ship transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) using vessels from the so-called “shadow fleet,” involving a Chinese tanker. According to satellite imagery and partial data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), the operation took place on October 18, 2025, approximately 50 nautical miles off the eastern coast of Malaysia.
This transfer marks a new phase in the Kremlin’s strategy for exporting energy outside Western control and international sanctions. The Perle vessel was transporting a cargo originating from Gazprom Portovaya Lng in the Baltic Sea, sanctioned by the United States in January 2025 and subsequently deprived of foreign buyers.
Satellite images from Sentinel-2 show the two vessels alongside each other, following standard procedure for an STS (ship-to-ship) operation. However, both vessels would have disabled their AIS transponders, rendering the operation “dark” to international observers. This is the first documented case of a Russian LNG transfer of this type conducted in Southeast Asian waters.
Analyst Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers, confirmed that this marks the first recorded instance of a clandestine transfer of Russian gas in that region, jokingly noting that the Chinese CCH Gas vessel had “done a poor job of covering its tracks.”
The CCH Gas, built in 2006 and previously known as Condor Lng, is one of several steam-powered tankers sold between 2024 and 2025 by Western operators to unidentified Chinese buyers. Transferred from TMS Cardiff at the beginning of 2025, it is now registered with CCH-1 Shipping Co. Ltd (Hong Kong) and managed by Primepath Shipping Ltd in Shanghai, according to Equasis database data.
This operation reinforces Moscow’s ability to maintain energy exports despite sanctions, expanding its distribution channels towards Asia. Two months prior, Russia had initiated Lng shipments from the Novatek Artic Lng 2 project – also sanctioned – to the Beihai terminal in southern China, with ten deliveries completed.
Last week, the United Kingdom included the terminal in its blacklist, but the impact of these measures appears limited: Beijing had already redirected flows elsewhere, confirming the growing energy cooperation between Russia and China in an anti-Western context.
Original Article: Mosca e Pechino insieme nella “flotta ombra”: primo trasferimento segreto di gas liquefatto in mare aperto — Shipmag (Italian) | View English Translation