First Yamal LNG cargo of year transits North Sea Route to arrive in Asia

The first Yamal LNG cargo of 2019 transited the North Sea Route to arrive in Northeast Asia, data from S&P Global Platts' cFlow trade flow software showed Monday.

The 172,000 cu m Vladimir Rusanov ice-breaking LNG tanker left the Yamal LNG facility in Sabetta, Russia on June 29 and arrived in South Korean waters over the weekend. The vessel is currently in a holding pattern off the South Korean island of Geoje.

Last week, ship transponder data showed the vessel's destination as the Port of Okpo on Geoje Island, which is the site of a Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard where the Vladimir Rusanov was built.

Updated data now shows the vessel's destination as Tianjin, China, with an expected arrival date of July 24.

The North Sea Route is traditionally only open during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, when certain ice-breaker class vessels such as the Vladimir Rusanov are able to make the journey. This route to Northeast Asia takes about 15 days, half the time of the alternative route using the Suez Canal.

Cargoes from Yamal LNG, therefore, have good access to both European and Asian markets during this period.