Bloomberg: China building its own “shadow fleet” to import gas from Russia

China is creating its own “shadow fleet” of vessels to import Russian gas that is under US sanctions.

The effort remains in its early stages, but tanker movements and ownership patterns in China are beginning to mirror those previously observed in Russia, Caliber.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.

Experts note that Beijing is intensifying its push to import Russian gas under sanctions, laying the groundwork for a domestic “shadow fleet” capable of transporting energy and bypassing restrictions imposed on one of the Kremlin’s flagship industries.

It is reported that the LNG tanker CCH Gas, which carries Russian gas and is on a blacklist, has been concealing its location as it approaches a Chinese port.

The vessel’s registered owner, CCH-1 Shipping Co., is legally based in Hong Kong at the same address as Samxin Secretarial Services Ltd.—a common practice among companies seeking to obscure beneficial ownership while trading fuel from Iran or Russia.

Another LNG carrier, recently renamed Kunpeng, was spotted near Singapore with a similar corporate structure.

Meanwhile, China is also allowing private investors to hold stakes of more than 10% in certain railway and energy projects traditionally funded by the state, effectively removing restrictions on the participation of non-state entities in these ventures.

In parallel, Russia itself has been assembling a similar “dark fleet” of LNG carriers since last year, registering more than a dozen vessels under shell companies stretching from Russia to India.

This effort has emerged as Western governments increase pressure on buyers of Russian oil and gas in response to Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Analysts note that building a shadow fleet for LNG is particularly complex, as such carriers require advanced cryogenic technology to transport fuel cooled to –162°C, and the global LNG fleet numbers only about 800 vessels—making concealment far more difficult than in the oil trade.

 By Jeyhun Aghazada