Construction of Arctic LNG platforms resumes as China-made modules arrive in Belokamenka
Two heavy-load carriers have arrived in Belokamenka on the Kola Peninsula with Chinese-made modules for Novatek’s heavily sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.
The two carriers spent almost three months on their voyage from the port of Lusi in eastern China to Russia’s far northern Kola Peninsula. On 16 July, the ships sailed past the North Cape in the Barents Sea. On 17 July, they moored in a bay by the Rybachii Peninsula, and the following day, they proceeded to the Kola Bay.
As if sailing under cover, the ships reported their destination as Kirkenes, a Norwegian border town.
The shipments are sensitive and controversial. From the outset, the actual destination was the LNG Construction Centre in Belokamenka, a sanctioned company. On board the ships were modules for the heavily sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. One of the heavy-load carriers, the Bright Ocean (IMO 9830769), is itself on sanctions lists. The vessel was previously named Hunter Star and delivered similar cargo to Belokamenka twice in 2024. On the latter occasion, the ship, which is not designed for sailing in sea ice, made it through the remote and icy Northern Sea Route.
The modules on board the 160-metre-long carriers will allow Novatek, a Russian natural gas company, to resume construction of a so-called gravity-based production structure.
This structure will be the third of its kind built for the Arctic LNG 2 project. The first two units were completed in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and towed from the LNG Construction Centre in Belokamenka to the Gulf of Ob.
Today, the two units are in operation at Utrenneye on the Gydan Peninsula, the production site and logistical hub of Arctic LNG 2.
The project’s third and final unit is far behind the original schedule. It was planned to be completed in 2025, but construction was halted due to sanctions.
In autumn 2024, the owners turned off the lights in Belokamenka as contractors and subcontractors abandoned the plant. Now, the lights are back on, and construction is expected to resume shortly.
Arctic LNG 2 is Novatek’s and Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas project. It is designed for an annual production capacity of almost 20 million tonnes of LNG.
The project was placed on the sanctions lists of the UK and the US in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Connected subsidiary companies, vessels, and infrastructure have also been sanctioned. This includes the Saam FSU (IMO 9915090) in Ura Bay, as well as the Christophe de Margerie (IMO 9737187 and the Aleksey Kosygin (IMO 9904546), the two tankers that currently shuttle between Utrenneye and Ura Bay.
Despite international sanctions, Novatek has managed to launch production at Arctic LNG 2 and establish an export schedule. In August 2025, Novatek sent its first tanker with LNG from Gydan to China.
In 2025, Novatek exported 1.2 million tonnes of LNG from Arctic LNG 2 to Chinese buyers. In the first half of 2026, the volume had increased to 1.6 million tonnes, according to Novatek.
