China is actively developing its own ‘shadow fleet’ of gas carriers to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, despite US sanctions against key Russian projects such as Arctic LNG-2 and Gazprom’s Portovaya plant. This allows Beijing to diversify its energy supplies, obtain gas at discounts and strengthen its strategic partnership with Moscow.
According to investigations by Bloomberg and other sources, China is acquiring old gas tankers through opaque companies, often registered in Hong Kong, the Marshall Islands or China. These vessels change their names and owners and disable their tracking systems (AIS) to conceal the origin of their cargo.
China has designated the terminal in Beihai (Guangxi Province) as the main point of reception for sanctioned Russian LNG. Since August 2025, more than 20 shipments have arrived there, including the first direct deliveries from sanctioned plants. The ‘shadow fleet’ consists of about 15 vessels that have delivered over 1 million tonnes of LNG — significantly less than Russia’s oil ‘shadow fleet’ (about 1,000 tankers), but critical for LNG due to the complexity of the technology (gas is cooled to -162°C) and the limited global fleet (less than 800 gas carriers).
For Russia, this is a lifeline: LNG exports are Putin’s priority after losing European markets. China buys gas at a discount of up to 30–40%, helping Moscow circumvent US and EU sanctions. At the same time, Russia is building its own ‘shadow’ LNG fleet (more than a dozen ships).
Experts note the risks: a shortage of qualified crews, dangerous overloads on the open sea, and environmental threats. The West is increasing pressure, but without secondary sanctions against Chinese terminals, the fleet will continue to grow.
This deepens Russia’s energy dependence on China and demonstrates the limits of Western sanctions in the global energy sector.