A UK shipping company played a significant role in Russia's LNG trade revenue, raising $3.2 billion in 2025, according to campaigners. The Glasgow-based Seapeak company led Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) exports from the Arctic Yamal LNG project, transporting shipments worth £2.3 billion ($3.2 billion). This revenue is close to the estimated cost of 87,000 Shahed-type attack drones, regularly used for aerial strikes against Ukraine. Gas and oil exports have been crucial in funding Russia's war against Ukraine, which is soon to enter its fourth year. Seapeak's involvement in Yamal LNG's trade in 2025 was 37.3%, the highest among all companies, as per Urgewald's analysis. This marks an increase from 35.9% in 2024, despite a slight drop in overall LNG volumes transported. The Kyiv Independent has contacted Seapeak for comment. The NGO Urgewald's earlier analysis revealed that Yamal LNG exported €7.2 billion ($8.4 billion) worth of LNG to European markets in 2025, accounting for nearly 15% of the EU's total global LNG imports. Yamal LNG, a non-sanctioned venture in northwestern Siberia, is Russia's primary LNG export route to Europe. Seapeak operates six of the 15 Arc7 ice-class vessels specifically built for the Yamal LNG project. Urgewald's sanctions campaigner, Sebastian Rotters, urges the British government to take immediate action against these Arc7 ships, describing them as the 'backbone of Russia's Arctic LNG exports'. This news comes amidst growing Western pressure against Russian LNG trade. The EU has approved a ban on Russian LNG imports by early 2027, with pipeline gas imports to follow later that year. Svitlana Romanko, the founder of Razom We Stand, warns that companies like Seapeak, by enabling Yamal LNG, are not just transporting gas but also funneling money directly into Russia's budget, enabling Moscow to fund its brutal weapons of war against Ukraine.
