the wandering gas carrier is back in business

After more than a year and a half of inactivity, the gas carrier SCF La Perouse, owned by the Russian company Sovcomflot, has returned to service, reports EADaily.

Photo: Wikipedia

It was used to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Gazprom in the Baltic Sea. This happened after the French company TotalEnergies abandoned its contract with Sovcomflot due to sanctions.

SCF La Perouse was sent to load at the Portovaya complex in the Baltic Sea. This gas carrier was used for the first time in the last year and a half.

The medium-tonnage complex at Nord Stream was launched a year ago and is intended for LNG export. During most of this time, cargo was delivered to Turkey and Greece using the Pskov and Veliky Novgorod gas carriers. However, in August, Gazprom sent LNG via the Veliky Novgorod gas carrier to China via the Northern Sea Route, which reduced delivery time. However, this created logistical uncertainty, which is apparently why another Sovcomflot tanker (SCF La Perouse) was deployed to transport Gazprom LNG.

It should be noted that the reasons for the long downtime of SCF La Perouse may be related to both sanctions against Sovcomflot and the lack of available cargo.

Greece has become one of the key clients of the Baltic Portovaya LNG complex, and the Greek state-owned gas distribution company Depa is a long-term client of Gazprom. It probably resells cargo to both Bulgaria and Moldova.

In addition, the demand for Russian LNG in Europe is growing due to the lack of alternative fuel sources, and Russian LNG is sold in euros, without the need to convert into rubles, unlike pipeline gas.