Ukraine's military intelligence publishes data on 20 vessels in Russia's energy-export network
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has published data on 20 maritime vessels it says are used to export Russian oil, oil products, and liquefied natural gas or to refuel sanctioned ships. All 20 are under UK or Ukrainian sanctions, and one is also under US sanctions. HUR called on international partners to tighten controls on the sale of such vessels, block servicing of the sanctioned fleet at foreign shipyards, and cut off Russia's energy-export revenues.
Key points
- Ukraine's HUR published information on 20 vessels exporting Russian oil, oil products, and LNG or refueling sanctioned ships.
- All 20 vessels are under UK or Ukrainian sanctions; one is also under US sanctions.
- The gas carrier PORTOVYY, owned by sanctioned Gazprom since 2021, left the Gulf of Finland with Russian LNG on 15 August 2026 for the first time since November 2021 and sailed via the Northern Sea Route to the Chinese port of Beihai.
- Gas carriers AVACHA and CHAIVO joined the Russian shadow fleet in spring 2026 after being acquired by Marshall Islands-registered Tudor Maritime Ltd and now fly the Russian flag.
- Both AVACHA and CHAIVO are managed by Russian company Cryoline Management and have been shipping gas to Beihai since August 2026, from the Utrenniy terminal of the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 project and from a floating storage near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky respectively.
- HUR called on international partners to restrict sales of such vessels, block servicing of the sanctioned fleet at foreign shipyards, and cut off Russia's energy-export revenues.
- The vessel data was published on the 'War&Sanctions' portal.
Why it matters
The publication maps a specific logistics network Russia uses to keep earning revenue from energy exports under sanctions, and it documents how individual vessels change hands, flags, and operators to evade restrictions — including routes by which Russian LNG reaches Chinese ports via the Northern Sea Route. By pairing the data with an explicit policy ask — restrict ship sales, block servicing at foreign shipyards, and cut off energy-export income — HUR is presenting the release as a tool for partners to tighten enforcement against the shadow fleet.
What happened
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) published information about 20 maritime vessels that it says are involved in exporting Russian oil, oil products, and liquefied natural gas, or in refueling sanctioned vessels. All 20 are under UK or Ukrainian sanctions, and one is also under US sanctions.
HUR highlighted several vessels in detail. The gas carrier PORTOVYY (IMO 9246621) has belonged to sanctioned Gazprom since 2021 and has been used as floating gas storage within the Portovaya complex in Leningrad Oblast. On 15 August 2026, PORTOVYY left the Gulf of Finland with Russian LNG for the first time since November 2021, then sailed via the Northern Sea Route to the Chinese port of Beihai and was later reported at the Zhoushan Huafeng Shipyard on Zhoushan Island in China.
Two gas carriers, AVACHA and CHAIVO, joined the Russian shadow fleet in spring 2026 after being acquired by the Marshall Islands-registered Tudor Maritime Ltd. AVACHA previously belonged to the Chinese company Jovo Energy and has flown the Russian flag since June 2026; CHAIVO previously belonged to the Greek company Maran Gas Maritime and transitioned to the Russian flag in July 2026. Both are managed by the Russian company Cryoline Management. Since August 2026, AVACHA has been transporting gas from the Utrenniy terminal of the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 project to Beihai, and CHAIVO has been transporting gas from the floating storage KORYAK FSU near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the same port.
HUR called on international partners to strengthen control over the sale of such vessels, block servicing of the sanctioned fleet at foreign shipyards, and cut off Russia's energy-export revenues. The data was published on the 'War&Sanctions' portal. Separately, the United Kingdom recently sanctioned eight vessels that Russia planned to use to build a new shadow fleet for transporting LNG, as part of a larger package of 31 measures.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The three supplied sources are all Ukrainian-language media outlets (ЛІГА.net LB.ua, Суспільне Новини, and ZN.UA) and centre the story on the HUR publication, presenting the agency as the source of both the vessel list and the vessel-level details. Ukrainian coverage foregrounds HUR's call to international partners to restrict sales, block servicing at foreign shipyards, and cut off Russia's energy-export revenues, framing the release as a tool to pressure Moscow. It also highlights individual ship histories — ownership changes, flag switches, and routes to Chinese ports — as concrete evidence of sanctions evasion.
Background
All 20 vessels are already under UK or Ukrainian sanctions, with one also under US sanctions. The gas carrier PORTOVYY is owned by sanctioned Gazprom and has been used as floating gas storage within the Portovaya complex in Leningrad Oblast; it left the Gulf of Finland with Russian LNG for the first time since November 2021 on 15 August 2026, then sailed via the Northern Sea Route to the Chinese port of Beihai and was reported at a shipyard on Zhoushan Island. Two gas carriers, AVACHA and CHAIVO, joined the Russian shadow fleet in spring 2026 after being acquired by a Marshall Islands-registered company; both now fly the Russian flag and are managed by a Russian company, shipping gas to Beihai from the Utrenniy terminal of the sanctioned Arctic LNG-2 project and from a floating storage facility near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The UK recently sanctioned eight vessels that Russia planned to use to build a new shadow LNG fleet, as part of a larger sanctions package. HUR published the vessel data on the 'War&Sanctions' portal.