Novatek Pays Nearly $900 Million to MOL for Four Arc4 LNG Carriers

Novatek, Russia's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, paid nearly $900 million to Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) for four modern Arc4 ice-class LNG carriers. The vessels are already heading toward the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic.

The deal is part of a Novatek strategy to expand the fleet supplying its Arctic projects, at a time when the company is under Western sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine. Fleet constraints had hampered the development of its LNG initiatives, particularly the Arctic LNG 2 project.

According to data from the Equasis and LSEG databases, the company Novatek Gas&Power Asia Pte now appears as the commercial operator of the North Ocean and North Moon, two of the four LNG carriers involved in the deal. Both vessels were built at a South Korean shipyard between 2024 and 2025 and, prior to the change of ownership, were operated by MOL, which declined to comment on the transaction, while Novatek did not respond to requests for information. According to LSEG, the vessels are currently sailing along the Northern Sea Route from South Korea.

Various media outlets had previously reported the names of the four new Arc4 vessels that Novatek was set to add to its fleet. Three of them, including the North Ocean and the North Moon, had been sanctioned by the European Union last year, though they were later removed from the blacklist after providing guarantees that they would not be used to transport LNG from the Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 projects. All four vessels changed ownership and operators in September, were reflagged to Panama, and were renamed this month.