As already reported in the article "Power of Siberia 2 - Impact on new (US) LNG projects and the LNG market", a cargo loaded in the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 export project docked in China/Beihai at the end of August 2025 and was unloaded - putting the Trump administration's willingness to enforce sanctions to the test for the first time. This was against the backdrop that Novatek JPSC - as the operator of the Arctic LNG 2 plant - had difficulties finding a buyer up to that point, even though a shadow fleet had been installed.

The Arctic LNG 2 export facility - which was sanctioned by the Biden administration due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine the following year - has apparently been loading its tenth cargo since the end of June, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Previously, as previously mentioned, cargoes were unloaded at a single port in southern China, Beihai, or at a temporary storage facility in the far east of Russia. By choosing the terminal in Beihai, a port of minor international importance, Beijing could be trying to avoid possible serious retaliation by the US against the natural gas sector in China.

The number of cargoes exported in the relevant period is shown in the chart below.

While the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing has intensified again in recent days, the US has not yet responded with strict measures against sanctioned Russian LNG. President Trump, who has so far tried unsuccessfully to end the war in Ukraine, will meet with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Washington this week to discuss air defence, long-range weapons and energy for the hard-hit Ukraine.