<\/p>\n
A Glasgow-based shipping company has relied on the assistance of sanctioned Russian icebreakers to transport over 700,000 tonnes of gas from the Arctic to Europe in the last month alone, an Unearthed investigation has found.<\/p>\n
Seapeak operates six \u2018ice-class\u2019 tankers, capable of transporting huge cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through frozen waters.<\/p>\n
These vessels, which the company operates from its global LNG operations hub in Glasgow, are a major part of the fleet that brings gas to Europe from Yamal LNG, a giant plant in Russia\u2019s Arctic circle.<\/p>\n
But during the winter months, even ice-class tankers require assistance from icebreakers to navigate the frozen Siberian waters outside Yamal LNG\u2019s port. In the journey\u2019s first stage, tankers often sail in direct convoy with nuclear-powered icebreaker ships operated by Atomflot, a subsidiary of Russia\u2019s nuclear agency that has been sanctioned by the EU and the UK.<\/p>\n
Seapeak told BBC Scotland: \u201cWe comply with all applicable sanctions and regulations, and we do not have a contractual relationship with any third parties subject to EU sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is no suggestion that Seapeak has made direct payments to Atomflot, which would be a clear breach of sanctions. Instead it appears likely that Yamal LNG\u2019s operator, Novatek, contracts Atomflot\u2019s services.<\/p>\n
But Seapeak has played a significant role in a trade that appears to earn millions of pounds a year for Atomflot: the Russian company charges an estimated \u00a3300,000 per journey for its icebreaking services, according to its parent company\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Oleh Savytskyi, strategic advisor of Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand, said that Seapeak \u201cremains a key enabler of Russian gas exports\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe flow of hard currency from Novatek\u2019s LNG exports provides financing for relentless bombings of our civilian infrastructure, our power plants and heating systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cScots are rightly disgusted that a company based here has played such a key role in keeping the Russian war economy going,\u201d said Ross Greer, member of the Scottish parliament for the Green party. He said Unearthed\u2019s findings about Atomflot\u2019s role in Seapeak\u2019s Russian gas exports should be \u201cthe last straw\u201d.<\/p>\n
Greer added: \u201cUkraine desperately needs all the help we can offer. That means cracking down on businesses who are complicit in this brutal war.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January 2026, Seapeak-operated vessels transported ten shipments of gas from Yamal to Europe. Unearthed tracked all of them, using AIS ship-location data provided by MarineTraffic. Each ship sailed in direct convoy with an Atomflot icebreaker through a roughly 60km stretch of waters near Yamal LNG\u2019s port, to reach the open sea. The cargoes were destined for France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway.<\/p>\n
Escalating sanctions
In the four years since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, European and British governments have imposed escalating sanctions on Russia\u2019s fossil fuel industry. These are aimed at limiting Russian president Vladimir Putin\u2019s ability to bankroll military action on Europe\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n
The UK banned imports of Russian gas in 2023. Europe, which was far more dependent on Russian energy, held off from imposing sanctions on gas imports; last year the EU was the biggest buyer of Russian LNG, importing \u20ac700m worth in December alone. The Yamal LNG plant is the source of almost all Russian LNG imported into Europe.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2019UK sanctions can be a real choke point for Russian LNG export logistics\u2019\u2019
\u2013 Oleh Savytskyi, Razom We Stand<\/p>\n
In 2023, as part of a swathe of measures targeting participants in Russian energy exports, the EU sanctioned Atomflot. \u201cRussia\u2019s icebreaker fleet is key to the country\u2019s Arctic hydrocarbon strategy,\u201d the EU\u2019s sanctions text explained, although it emphasised the role these vessels played in escorting tankers to Asia, rather than Europe.<\/p>\n
The UK and US followed suit in May 2023, with the UK describing Atomflot as \u201cinvolved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia\u201d.<\/p>\n
But Unearthed\u2019s research has revealed that exports of LNG to Europe from Yamal LNG rely heavily on assistance from Atomflot\u2019s icebreakers during the coldest months of the year.<\/p>\n
Last year Unearthed revealed that Atomflot icebreakers had escorted shipments of over 350,000 tonnes of gas bought by UK-based oil giant Shell. Shell said it was confident that it complies with all sanctions.<\/p>\n
British and European energy companies that hold contracts for supply of gas from Yamal LNG told Unearthed that they comply with all sanctions law. Yamal LNG controls \u201call aspects\u201d of the logistics of delivering that gas to European ports, the German government told MPs in response to a parliamentary question about Atomflot\u2019s role in exports from Yamal to SEFE, a state-owned German energy company.<\/p>\n
The EU has announced that it will ban imports of Russian LNG in all but the most urgent circumstances by the end of 2026. The UK announced last autumn that it will impose a maritime services ban that prevents British companies from providing shipping or insurance services. The ban will be introduced \u201cin lockstep with our European partners,\u201d a government press release said.<\/p>\n
A UK government official told High North News last November: \u201cthe MSB [maritime services ban] means that all UK companies, including Seapeak, will be unable to continue providing these services to Russian LNG cargoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf enacted as promised last year and properly enforced, UK sanctions can be a real choke point for Russian LNG export logistics,\u201d said Oleh Savytskyi. Razom We Stand, he added, is \u201cpushing not just for announcements, but for tight, no-escape sanctions that actually stop Western companies from helping turn Arctic gas into missiles over Ukrainian cities.\u201d
Source: Greenpeace UK<\/p>\n
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