Sanctioned Russian tanker appears to transfer LNG off Malaysia

A dark tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from a US-sanctioned Russian export plant has positioned itself for a rare open-water fuel transfer off the coast of Malaysia, satellite images show, in a demonstration of the increasingly circuitous routes taken by Moscow to evade Western restrictions.

The Perle, which was sanctioned by the US earlier this year, is currently anchored parallel to another vessel about 90 kilometres (55 miles) east of the Malaysian peninsula, according to Sentinel-2 satellite images taken on October 18 and earlier ship-tracking data. The position is typical of a ship-to-ship manoeuvre and suggests the two are in the process of transferring cargo.

While the area has been a hotspot for open-water transfers of sensitive crude, often between so-called dark-fleet tankers that use a range of practices to evade sanctions, such operations are technically challenging and unusual for natural gas.

Analysis suggests this could be the first documented occurrence of Russian LNG transferred in waters off Malaysia.

Like many other vessels carrying Russian LNG and struggling to find buyers, the Perle has been on a long journey to Asia – and not before idling for months earlier this year. It loaded an LNG cargo from the Portovaya plant on Russia’s Baltic coast as early as February, according to data from Kpler, an analytics firm that tracks ship data.

It then appears to have waited for months before heading to Asia in July, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope.