UK Becomes First G7 Nation to Sanction Russia’s New Arctic LNG Fleet

Britain on Tuesday announced sanctions on four liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels recently acquired by Russia to service its Arctic LNG 2 project, becoming the first G7 country to take such action.

The ships were included in a broader sanctions package targeting 70 individuals and entities accused of propping up Russia’s war economy. In addition, London sanctioned over 20 oil tankers, ship insurers and maritime service providers operating within Russia's so-called "shadow fleet." To date, the UK has sanctioned a total of 600 shadow fleet and Russian LNG vessels.

The United States imposed sanctions on Arctic LNG 2 as production began in late 2023, prompting foreign shareholders to suspend participation. Britain later added the project to its asset freeze registry. According to the British government, these sanctions have limited Russia to exporting just 1.3 million metric tons of LNG from Arctic LNG 2 in 2025, despite an annual capacity of 13.5 million tons.

The latest measures also hit Yandex Bank, Wildberries Bank, 10 GRU military intelligence officers and a GRU front company, Neptune, suspected of covertly procuring Western technology for the Russian military. Mirroring a European Union sanctions package from a day earlier, Britain also penalized third-country military equipment suppliers based in China, Turkey and Thailand, along with a Nigerian financial entity accused of facilitating sanctions evasion.