A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a US-sanctioned Russian export plant has been observed transferring cargo at sea off the coast of Malaysia.
The vessel, Perle, sanctioned by the US earlier this year, was seen anchored alongside another ship about 90 kilometres east of the Malaysian peninsula.
Satellite images taken on 18 October and earlier tracking data suggest the two ships were carrying out a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer, a rare and complex operation for LNG cargoes.
Analysts believe this could be the first known case of Russian LNG being transferred in Malaysian waters. The Perle loaded LNG from Russia’s Portovaya plant on the Baltic coast in February and stayed idle for several months before sailing towards Asia in July, taking the route around the Cape of Good Hope.
Ship-tracking data shows that the Portovaya plant has not exported LNG to foreign buyers since the US imposed sanctions in January,
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