Russian LNG Keeps Flowing to Europe

Fayard, a shipyard on the Danish island of Funen, dry-docks and repairs tankers carrying Russian liquefied natural gas. There is no EU rule stopping it. The yard checks every vessel against sanctions lists and refuses those that are listed (WirtschaftsWoche). Denmark's prime minister has called the situation "incomprehensible", but until EU law changes, she has no legal lever to shut it down.

That is the uncomfortable reality behind Europe's energy sanctions. Political language says Russian gas is being phased out. The market data says something else. Russia still supplied 17.3% of EU LNG imports in the first quarter of 2026 (Eurostat). Those imports rose 11% year on year in early 2026, then climbed another 17% after new restrictions took effect in March, according to monitoring data from ACER, the EU's energy regulator (Euronews). The EU is trying to close the door. The volumes are still walking through it.

Why the Phase-Out Lets More Gas Through

LNG is natural gas chilled into liquid form so it can be moved by ship rather than pipeline. That makes it depend on a long chain: tankers, dry-docking, hull repairs, port calls, insurance, terminal storage and regasification, the process that turns the liquid back into gas for pipelines.

The EU's 14th sanctions package, adopted in June 2024, closed only one part of that chain. It banned EU terminals from reloading Russian LNG for shipment to countries outside the bloc (Council of the EU). It did not ban Russian LNG bought for European use, and it did not touch the ship services that keep the trade moving (EEAS).

New contracts for Russian gas were barred from March 2026. Older contracts, signed before the ban, continue until tougher deadlines in 2027, with a full import ban not expected before January of that year (Euronews). That exemption explains the rise. Buyers with existing deals have every reason to take deliveries while the legal route remains open, and some are likely building stocks before the deadline closes. Fayard is not selling gas. It is selling ship maintenance. But it is operating exactly in the space EU law chose to leave open.

The Loophole Has More Than One Address

Fayard is only one part of the problem. Belgium's Zeebrugge terminal, run by Fluxys, provides storage, loading and regasification services. Those services can handle Russian LNG entering the EU for domestic use, which is precisely the route the sanctions did not close (Fluxys, Council of the EU). A shipyard keeps the tanker seaworthy. A terminal makes its cargo usable. Both remain outside the sanctions net.

The split in Europe follows the money. France is Europe's largest LNG entry point, with 249 TWh of LNG imports in 2025 covering 56% of French gas supply, according to Les Énergies Renouvelables. TotalEnergies has a purchase contract with Russia's Yamal LNG project running until 2032 (Executive Digest). Spain, with six regasification plants and the EU's largest LNG entry capacity, has port operators warning publicly that a rapid ban could push prices higher and increase dependence on US suppliers (upday Spain).

For Malta, this is a familiar EU pattern: the rule agreed in Brussels is only as strong as the exemptions, transition periods and commercial interests built into it. France and Spain have financial reasons to prefer a slower timetable. The Baltic states want the opposite, arguing that every remaining import still feeds Russia's war economy (english.nv.ua).

Brussels has six months before the January 2027 deadline. The real test will not be another declaration about ending Russian energy dependence. It will be whether legacy contracts lose their protection early, whether terminal operators face new duties on Russian gas cargoes, and whether a shipyard on Funen can still service the tankers carrying them.