A dark tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from a Russian export facility approved by the US has positioned itself for a rare open-water fuel transfer off the coast of Malaysia, satellite images show, in a demonstration of the increasing routes Moscow has taken to evade Western restrictions. The Perle, approved by the US earlier this year, is currently anchored parallel to another vessel about 90 kilometers east of the Malaysian peninsula, according to Sentinel-2 satellite images taken on October 18 and earlier ship tracking data. The position is typical of a ship-to-ship maneuver and suggests that the two are transferring cargo. While the area has been a hot spot for open-water transfers of sensitive crude, often between so-called dark navy tankers that use a range of practices to evade sanctions, such operations are technically challenging and unusual for natural gas. Bloomberg analysis suggests this may be the first documented occurrence of Russian LNG being transferred in Malaysian waters. Like many other vessels carrying Russian LNG and struggling to find buyers, the Perle was on a long journey to Asia – and not idle until months earlier this year. It already loaded an LNG cargo from the Portovaya plant on Russia’s Baltic coast in February, according to data from Kpler, an analytics firm that tracks shipping data. It then appears to have waited for months before departing for Asia in July, sailing the Cape of Good Hope. The Portovaya facility has not exported to a foreign buyer since the US approved the facility in January, according to ship tracking data, meaning it is likely to be its first cargo heading east in nearly a year. While Bloomberg has tracked the Pearl’s path to date, it is not currently broadcasting its location, according to ship tracking data — common practice by shadow fleet ships that conceal their exact whereabouts. Bloomberg News could not immediately identify the other vessel. Russia has stepped up political and other efforts to find buyers for its gas, even as Western nations seek to curb Moscow’s LNG exports. Another US-approved plant, Arctic LNG 2, began supplying the blacklisted fuel to China in late August, a move that coincided with a visit to Beijing by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Perle tanker is managed by a company called Dreamer Shipmanagement LLC-FZ, which uses the Meydan Hotel in Dubai as its registered address, according to shipping database Equasis. That location is used by a number of other firms that have helped Russia assemble a fleet of vessels to carry approved gas. Dreamer Shipmanagement does not have a registered email address or phone number. The Meydan Hotel did not respond to Bloomberg’s inquiries or a request to contact the company on Sunday. ©2025 Bloomberg LP This article was generated from an automated news agency feed with no text modifications.
Dark ship appears to be transferring sanctioned Russia LNG from Malaysia
