Exclusive:Scottish firm faces ban on Russian gas operations
Campaigners welcome step but express reservations over pace of action
A Scottish firm that has been repeatedly condemned for helping to bankroll Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine by facilitating energy exports is facing a ban on its work in Russia.
Seapeak Maritime Glasgow Ltd, a leading owner and operator of liquefied gas vessels, has been criticised by campaigners for transporting millions of tonnes of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG).
According to Razom We Stand, a Ukrainian climate advocacy group, the Glasgow-based firm is involved in the management and operational aspects of LNG tankers exclusively chartered for the Yamal LNG project, a major Russian energy initiative in the remote Yamal peninsula.
Now, the UK government has announced plans to introduce a maritime services ban on Russian LNG, a step it says will “significantly” reduce Russian exports of LNG and directly cut off access to the UK’s world-leading maritime services.
Groups who have campaigned against the involvement of UK firms in the Russian energy trade welcomed the move, but expressed concern the government was “slow walking” the phase out of these services.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the ban on maritime transport and related services - such as insurance - for Russian LNG exports to “third countries” will be phased in over 2026 “in lockstep” with its European partners.
Seapeak has not been accused of breaching any UK or EU sanctions. The UK government banned direct imports of Russian LNG from January 1, 2023, but no sanctions or restrictions were put in place to prevent British-managed or British-insured vessels from facilitating the transport of Russian fuel to other third parties.
Razom We Stand has described the Scottish firm as one of several European companies that “remain central” to the Yamal facility. The organisation called for an immediate end to Western firms doing business with the site.
A report published last week by the group claims that in the first six months of this year, Seapeak’s vessels handled over four million tonnes of LNG from Yamal LNG, accounting for 39 per cent of the total shipments during that time period.
While the UK has sanctioned scores of plants, tankers and LNG carriers involved in transporting Russian cargoes, the Yamal site has not been targeted. Those firms with a stake in the company behind the facility - a key source of LNG for European markets - include TotalEnergies, part of the consortium behind the West of Orkney wind farm, itself part of ScotWind - Scotland’s landmark renewable energy venture.
The report by Razom We Stand stated the cargo transported by Seapeak is valued at more than £1.7 billion by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and underscores the firm’s “significant role” in the transportation of Russian LNG, which forms a substantial portion of its exports.
“It remains a key player in the LNG shipping industry, servicing Yamal LNG under strict regulatory oversight concerning sanctions,” the report added.
Dr Svitlana Romanko, founder and executive director of Razom We Stand, said it had campaigned for years, especially for Seapeak to be banned from shipping Russian LNG. She called on the UK government to quickly align with and expedite G7 and EU-wide sanctions and take strong measures, including secondary sanctions against Russian LNG exports and its shadow fleet ships.
“As missiles and drones continue to devastate Ukraine daily, the UK government’s move to impose a maritime services ban on Russian LNG is a long-overdue and welcome step,” she said.
“Quickly cutting off UK maritime support for Russian LNG exports will choke the revenues fuelling Putin’s brutal war machine - avenues that have sustained atrocities from the start. After over three years of tireless advocacy, we applaud this decisive action, which ends maritime collaboration that has funnelled billions into Russia’s war chest.
“However, we also call for further action. The UK’s government must not ‘slow walk’ the planned phase out.”
A previous report by Razom We Stand claimed Seapeak lifted about 7.56 million tonnes of LNG from the Yamal terminal last year - a cargo worth around £2.9 billion based on average prices for Russian LNG throughout that year.
A protest was held outside Seapeak’s Glasgow offices earlier this summer amid calls for the UK government to prevent the firm from working on Russian LNG contracts.
Those in attendance included Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer, who also wrote to UK ministers earlier this year, urging them to take action against Seapeak.
Welcoming the “long overdue” decision”, Mr Greer said: “Scotland stands with our friends and allies in Ukraine. Seapeak's continued support for the Russian economy was a stain on our country's proud record, which is why we have campaigned relentlessly for this action.
“Putin's brutal invasion has cost the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and forced many more to flee their homes. With intense global sanctions against Russia in other sectors, these gas exports have been key to bankrolling Moscow's operations. [This] decision will heap even more pressure on Russia to end the war and respect Ukraine's independence.”
Seapeak did not respond to enquiries from The Scotsman. The most recent accounts for Seapeak Maritime Glasgow Ltd show it recorded a £15.6 million turnover in 2024, which delivered post-tax profits of £891,000, up from £656,000 the previous year.
The Companies House filing notes the firm’s ultimate parent company is an entity known as Stonepeak Limestone Holdings LP. Michael Dorrell, a US-based investor, is listed as a person with significant control over the Glasgow firm.
In an announcement detailing the planned maritime services ban on Russian LNG, UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Putin is trying to plunge Ukraine into darkness and the cold as winter approaches.
“These cowardly strikes are not only an attack on Ukraine’s security, but a threat to the UK’s economic security, stability and growth.”
Razom We Stand’s latest publication also pinpointed two other western shipping firms, Dynagas, a Greek company engaged in owning, managing, and chartering ice-class LNG carriers, and Mitsui OSK Lines, a company with offices in the UK and Japan, as being involved transporting gas in the Russian LNG trade.
It also claimed that over two-thirds of all Yamal LNG cargoes are still destined for EU buyers, generating billions of pounds in revenue for Yamal LNG, and tens of millions in pounds in tax for the Russian government. “The EU remains the largest buyer of Yamal LNG, placing it in a contradictory position regarding support for Ukraine, fossil fuel phase-out, and decoupling from Russia,” it states.
The group said that since the blasting of Nord Stream pipelines and the discontinuation of gas transit through Ukraine, exports of LNG from the Arctic are becoming increasingly crucial to Moscow’s energy agenda.
“As long as this trade continues, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and other member states purchasing and consuming Russian gas are helping to fund Russia’s war, which rains missiles on Ukrainian civilians,” the report warned.
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