Sakhalin News

Russia remained China's top oil supplier in March, data showed on Saturday, as refiners snapped up stranded Sokol shipments.China's imports from Russia, including supplies via pipelines and sea-borne shipments, jumped 12.5% on the year to 10.81 million metric tons, or 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.That was quite close to the previous monthly record of 2.56 million bpd in June 2023.Seven Russian tankers under sanctions offloaded Sokol cargoes in Chinese ports in March…

The Swedish Maritime Administration has purchased the 18-year-old icebreaker Polar Circle, expanding its fleet of icebreaking ships to help keep the nation's ports and shipping lanes clear during the cold winter months.In December, the Swedish Maritime Administration put out a tender to acquire a secondhand icebreaker, with Polar Circle emerging as the most suitable option. The agency recently ran the Polar Circle through trials in the Gulf of Bothnia before committing to purchase the vessel."We are delighted to welcome Polar Circle to our fleet.

Russian tanker Krymsk, hit by sanctions, docked on Wednesday at the Chinese port of Dongying in eastern Shandong province, home of independent refiners, to discharge 700,000 barrels of Russian Sokol crude, LSEG and Kpler shipping data showed.This is the second Russian oil tanker, hit by sanctions, to dock at Chinese ports this month. Last week, tanker Liteyny Prospect discharged its 700,000-barrel Sokol crude cargo at the Chinese port of Huanghua near Cangzhou city in Hebei province.The Dongying port authority declined comment when contacted by Reuters.

The Russian tanker Liteyny Prospect, hit by sanctions, has docked at the Chinese port of Huanghua to discharge its 700,000-barrel Russian Sokol crude cargo, two sources familiar with the matter said, clearing part of a backlog of cargoes disrupted by sanctions on Moscow's oil trade.The tanker is one of six ships carrying Sokol crude, which India has not been able to import due to payment issues. The six ships had been sailing to China but five of them are floating at sea early this week, shipping data showed, following fresh U.S.

Japan will make sure its energy supplies are not affected by sanctions the United States recently imposed on the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia in which it has a stake, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday.Japan, the world's second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, relies on LNG as a transition fuel before it reaches carbon neutrality in 2050, and has supply contracts and stakes in projects globally to guarantee imports.The Arctic LNG 2 project is to be launched next month…

Russia's Sakhalin Energy operating company has filed a lawsuit in a Russian court over tugboats owned by Denmark's Svitzer, a unit of shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, court documents showed on Thursday. The Russian court on the Pacific island of Sakhalin last month ordered the seizure of four tugboats belonging to Svitzer at the request of Sakhalin Energy, which claimed that the Danish company had unilaterally annulled the freight contract with it. Maersk has said it decided to exit Russia completely in March 2022 and has had an ongoing divestment process over its towage activities…

A Russian court on the Pacific island of Sakhalin has ordered the provisional seizure of four tugboats belonging to Denmark's Svitzer, the world's biggest tugboat operator, at the request of a Russian energy company. Moscow has been seizing the assets of some Western companies which have left the country or are scaling back their business there in response to the conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions. A court ruling dated April 24 said it had ordered the tugboats seized in response to a request by Sakhalin Energy…

Russia will conduct missile launches and torpedo tests as part of a surprise inspection of its Pacific naval fleet, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.The drills come amid heightened tension in the Asia-Pacific region, as the United States and South Korea conduct joint air exercises following an intercontinental ballistic missile test by North Korea."The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea…

Japan will stress the importance of investment in natural gas, liquefied natural gas as well as cleaner fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia during its presidency of the G7 this year, a source said, but would keep it clean to meet 2050 carbon neutral goal.Japan, president of the rich-country grouping for 2023, will hold a ministerial meeting on climate, energy and environment in the city of Sapporo on April 15-16, ahead of the main G7 summit in Hiroshima on May 19-21.Japan expects global energy markets to remain tight for years and it would "emphasise investment into natural gas…

A China-flagged cargo ship sank in the Strait of Tartary off the coast of Russia's Sakhalin island, the press service of Russia's Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport told TASS on Wednesday, adding there were no casualties."The crew of 21 citizens of the People's Republic of China got onto the ice and was then taken on board of an approaching ship," TASS cited the press service."Everyone is well, there were no casualties."(Reuters - Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Tom Hogue)

Japanese insurers are expected to continue providing marine war insurance which covers the sinking and requisition of ships due to war in Russian waters after Jan. 1, the Nikkei daily said on Thursday.Japan's Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance told shipowners last Friday that from Jan. 1 they would stop offering insurance coverage for ship damage caused by war in Russian waters, because reinsurers were withdrawing coverage.

Japan, the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, is facing its latest challenge in securing vital gas supplies from Russia after Western reinsurers said they would halt marine war insurance for ships travelling in Russian waters from Jan. 1.Having joined other G7 countries in imposing sweeping sanctions on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, Japan has been reducing its reliance on Russian oil and coal, but it continues to buy Russian LNG amid elevated prices in a tight…

Three Japanese insurance companies that are set to halt marine coverage of risks related to the war in Ukraine starting next month are in talks with reinsurers to resume those operations, they said on Monday. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance on Friday told shipowners that they would stop offering marine war insurance, which covers damage to ships from war in Russian waters, from Jan. 1, spokespeople at the companies said. Their comments confirmed local media reports on Saturday.

Oil output at the giant Exxon-led Sakhalin-1 Russian Pacific project collapsed following the U.S. major's refusal to accept local insurance for tankers after Western insurers pulled out due to sanctions, several industry sources told Reuters. Western insurers withdrew cover from tankers operated by state-run Sovcomflot, Russia's biggest shipping group, which was sanctioned following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "Exxon has refused to take Sovcomflot's tankers," one industry source said.

Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) said on Wednesday it had signed a long-term charter contract with the new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project for LNG carrier Grand Mereya to continue its shipping service.Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in June taking charge of the LNG project, creating a new legal entity to deal with buyers and shareholders. MOL's move comes after Japanese utilities, such as JERA and Tokyo Gas, signed deals with the new Russian operator to maintain long-term deliveries of LNG and Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp were approved by Russia to take a stake in the new operator.

Major energy traders are taking hundreds of millions of dollars in losses as they scramble to plug a liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply gap after several outages hampered efforts to fill European storage ahead of the winter heating season.Unplanned disruptions at LNG plants in the United States, Nigeria and Australia have wrong-footed traders, including BP and Shell, forcing them to pay inflated costs for alternative supplies.In a market already struggling to meet global demand for natural gas after Russia sharply reduced pipeline supplies into Europe, the lost LNG cargoes which can be transported by ship, have pushed global prices sharply…

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices jumped this week on fears of possible Russian supply disruptions to Japan and on rising demand due to a heatwave and concerns over the return of the Nord Stream pipeline after its planned 10-day maintenance.The average LNG price for August delivery into north-east Asia was estimated at $41 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up $2, or 5.1%, from the previous week, industry sources said.This is the highest level seen in four…

Russia announced on Friday a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in the country's far east, a move that could force out Shell and Japanese investors and adds another bullish factor to prices in a tight global LNG market.The order, signed on Thursday, creates a new firm to take over all rights and obligations of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co, in which Shell SHEL.L and two Japanese trading companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold just under 50%. Japanese…

Dutch shipbuilder Royal Niestern Sander last weekend launched "yard number 862", a shallow draft ice-breaking walk to work vessel, being built for a joint venture between the Russian companies Mercury Sakhalin and Pola."The world’s first ice-breaking walk-to-work vessel is one step closer to delivery and operations in harsh weather conditions in Sakhalin. To be continued!," the shipbuilder said in a press statement on Tuesday.The shallow draft ice-breaking walk-to-work vessel is designed and optimized for year-round operations in the challenging conditions on the east coast of Sakhalin…

More shuttle tankers will be needed in the years ahead to keep pace with a projected rise in oil volumes needing transport, Rystad Energy said.Produced volumes requiring transport key shuttle tanker markets Brazil, Canada, Norway, the U.K. and Russia are expected to rise to 3.3 billion barrels per year before the end of the decade, jumping 35% from 2.5 billion in 2021, according to a recent report from the Norwegian analyst group.Apart from minor dips in total utilization across these countries in 2018 and 2021…

Russia said on Thursday it was facilitating the export of grain and oilseeds from Ukraine through Russian-held transit points on the Azov Sea, without explaining who was providing the foodstuffs for export.Ukraine, like Russia one of the world's biggest exporters of grains and oilseeds, has accused Russia of stealing grain from territories in Ukraine that its forces have seized.Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko rejected the allegation in an interview with Reuters…

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is struggling to find a vessel to ship 700,000 barrels of crude from Russia's Far East, in a growing sign that complex trades involving one of Moscow's biggest partners are being interrupted by Western sanctions, sources say.Several Indian companies including ONGC have stakes in Russian oil and gas assets, and India has been buying more Russian crude since Moscow invaded Ukraine, snapping up the popular Urals crude grade, while other buyers…

In the latest corporate backlash to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Board of Shell plc said it intends to exit its joint ventures with Gazprom and related entities, including its 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, its 50 percent stake in the Salym Petroleum Development and the Gydan energy venture. Shell also intends to end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore…