Sanctioned tankers carried more than a quarter of Russia’s LNG exports

In Q3 2026, 22 sanctioned LNG tankers transported 2.1 million tonnes of Russian LNG. That is more than 26% of Russia’s total seaborne LNG exports for the quarter and 37% of the active LNG tanker fleet loading in Russia. The findings come from the new edition of KSE Institute’s Russian LNG Tracker.

Global seaborne LNG exports reached 33.8 million tonnes in September. The United States remained the largest exporter with a 31% share, while Russia ranked third with 10%. Russia’s seaborne LNG exports rose 51% month-on-month to 3.4 million tonnes, driven by higher shipments from the Yamal LNG and Sakhalin 2 terminals. Both likely returned to normal operations after maintenance. Yamal LNG continues to dominate Russian LNG exports, accounting for 46% of volumes in September.

Between January and September 2026, Russia exported 12.0 million tonnes of LNG to the EU, up 7.8% year-on-year. The EU received 47% of Russia’s total LNG exports, with France accounting for 40% of EU-bound volumes. In September, China and France together imported 60% of Russian LNG.

In September, tankers linked exclusively to companies outside EU/G7 jurisdictions carried 59% of Russian LNG. These vessels mainly supplied China (55%) and South Korea (13%).

Ship managers based in Japan and Russia handled 47% of Russian LNG shipments in September. The same share was carried by tankers whose registered owners are based in these two countries. ISM managers from Singapore and Russia oversaw vessels that carried 67% of total volumes. The share of Russia-flagged tankers in Russia’s total seaborne LNG exports rose from 3% in March to 26% in September 2026.

In September, 44 unique tankers transported Russian LNG, up from 30 in August. During July-September, the top ten ship management companies accounted for an average of 88% of Russia’s LNG exports. The top three companies stayed the same throughout the period. They were Seapeak Maritime Singapore (Singapore), Mitsui Osk Lines Ltd (Japan) and Dynagas Ltd (Greece), and together they carried an average of 53% of Russia’s monthly LNG exports.