Inside China’s Shadow LNG Fleet Offering a Lifeline to Putin

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1. *SS from Bloomberg News reporters Stephen Stapczynski, Jin Wu and Christopher Udemans:*

   A crew of Indonesian seafarers sped across the Singapore Strait in late August, bound for an empty liquefied natural gas tanker that had been loitering offshore for months. Some of the hurriedly assembled crew of 20 had been out of work for more than a year. None knew they were enroute to becoming part of a Chinese operation to build a shadow fleet of gas carriers.

   The tanker, CCH Gas, which has never been blacklisted, is a key piece of a growing shipping network designed to circumvent restrictions on sanctioned Russian gas. With some of Russia’s LNG export plants and tankers placed under restrictions following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has been working with Beijing to create a parallel system, similar to the one it uses for oil, that is less vulnerable to Western intervention.

   At stake for the US and its allies is their ability to rein in the Kremlin’s energy exports, which are a key source of funding for Moscow’s war. For Beijing, this dark network is about seizing the opportunity to secure Russian fuel at low prices, reinforcing ties at a time when Moscow has few alternative buyers.

   The operation between Moscow and Beijing hit a milestone in [August](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-28/us-sanctioned-russian-lng-shipment-docks-in-china-for-first-time), when China became the first country to import sanctioned LNG with the help of shadow vessels, a web of shell companies and a specially designated port.

   Chinese firms spent months laying the groundwork for this, according to a Bloomberg News investigation that drew on over two dozen industry specialists from recruiters to brokers to gas traders, most of whom asked for anonymity. Combined with satellite images, ship-tracking data and social media posts, the interviews paint a picture of how Russia and China are cutting corners and sometimes recruiting untrained staff to pilot highly technical vessels and perform hazardous tasks, like ship-to-ship LNG transfers in the open sea off Malaysia, as part of their efforts to assemble a dark fleet.

2. China, your most reliable supporter of invasions and dictatorship. Whether it is Ukraine, South America, middle east, Africa or South East Asia, China has a comprehensive suite of “businesses” from providing military equipment, censorship tools, financial to diplomatic support. Make sure you can have whichever piece of your neighbor lands you aspire, and live your luxurious lives (not including your citizens) as fully as possible.

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