CHRIS. DE MARGERIE

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Ship added to EU sanction list

The European Union has adopted its newest sanctions package on Dec 16, 2024, at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, adding 52 new vessels, among them the 'Christophe de Margerie', to the sanctions list that have been deemed by the EU to be supporting Russia’s war machine. The vessels that have been sanctioned are primarily involved in circumventing the oil price cap mechanism implemented by the West, in arms deliveries, and in the transportation of stolen grain. This latest package has brought the total number of vessels sanctioned by the EU to 79. The majority of the vessels are involved in the transport of Russian oil and in transporting arms for the Russian military. The sanctions package also targets a total of 54 individuals and 30 entities that are deemed to be bolstering Russia’s war effort. Among them, there are also entities and individuals in China and North Korea who have been deemed to be supplying Russia with dual-use materials to support Russia’s military efforts. Two senior North Korean officials and seven Chinese individuals and companies have been targeted in the latest sanctions. The purpose of the sanctions has been defined to increase the operational costs for Russia by banning them from ports in the EU and hindering them from receiving maritime services.

Tanker approaching Bering Strait after Arctic transit

The 'Christophe de Margerie' is approaching the Bering Strait on a risky voyage across the icy waters of the Russian Arctic shipping route.On Feb 3 it was located off the coast of Kamchatka. The ship has a northbound course and was due to arrive in Sabetta, the LNG terminal in Yamal on Feb 17. The tanker set out from the port of Yangkou on Jan 27. At the same time, the nuclear-powered icebreaker '50 Let Pobedy' on Feb 2 was sailing eastwards towards the East Siberian Sea. The two ships might meet near the Bering Strait, and the tanker subsequently escorted westwards through the thick sea-ice. The whole Northern Sea Route is now covered by ice. The straits between the mainland and archipelagos Severnaya Zemlya and New Siberian Islands are covered by thick fast ice, while the remaining part of the area has one-year old sea-ice that is between 30-200 cm thick.

Unassisted tanker passage shows risks of Northern Sea Route

Novatek has sent two LNG ice-class tankers, the 'Christophe de Margerie' and the 'Nikolay Yevgenov', to China through the Norhern Sea Route without ice-breaker support as the current conditions in the eastern Arctic were mild. The 'Christophe de Margerie' crossed the Arctic and reached Cape Dezhnyov, located between the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Strait, late on Jan 16, 2020, sailing 2,474 nautical miles in almost 11 days, enropute from Sabetta to Jiangsu, ETA Jan 26. However, the tankers, scheduled to deliver the super-chilled cargoes to China in late January, will use an ice-breaker on their return to Russia across the passage in February, according to the industry officials. Until now, a cargo ship has never made a February voyage in the eastern Arctic. The planned February return voyage is part of “the systemic efforts to gradually extend transit navigation in the eastern sector of the Arctic,” according to Sovcomflot. The 'Nikolay Yegenov' suffered azipod damage on Jan 16 and will have to be drydocked for repairs.