Japan's MOL to weigh options for cargo shipping including LNG in Russia

Japanese shipping group Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said March 7 it was reviewing the state of its cargo business in Russia which includes LNG and would consider options for its cargo-ship operations including "stoppage" amid the intensifying Russia-Ukraine conflict.

MOL's latest considerations came as it halted all of its ship arrivals into and departures from Ukraine, with no plans to resume them in the foreseeable future, a company spokesperson said.

"We have various ships [going to] Russia, and we are in the midst of collecting information internally on cargoes arriving and departing from the country," the spokesperson said.

To respond to rapidly changing situations surrounding the conflict, MOL had launched a task force across the company, the company said.

"In compliance with the international community's coordinated sanctions against the Russian Federation, and in accordance with the policy of the Japanese government, we will respond appropriately while continuing our consultations with various parties, including our business partners," MOL said in a statement.

MOL is the owner of four conventional LNG tankers and three ice-breaking LNG carriers for the Yamal LNG project in northern Russia.

MOL agreed Jan. 26 to participate in cargo transport for the Arctic LNG 2 project on Russia's Gydan Peninsula and signed a charter contract for a newbuild ice-breaking condensate tanker with the project company. The contract follows the October 2020 signing of charter contracts for three ice-breaking LNG vessels for the same project.

In September 2021, MOL also signed a letter of intent with Russia's State Transport Leasing Co., or GTLK, on MOL's participation in the Kamchatka and Murmansk LNG reloading and storage terminal projects.