Vessels in European waters carrying liquefied natural gas have sharply increased in number, satellite data indicates, as countries go on an LNG import binge in case the Ukraine crisis flares up and they get cut off from Russian supplies of the fuel, Report informs referring to Nikkei Asia.
In January 2021, there were 24 tankers in the area, but this January there were already 40 on average. In addition, more than 20 vessels that delivered LNG in the Asian region in November 2020 were seen in January 2022 on sea routes between Europe and the Middle East or North America.
A number of Western media reported that in the event of a hypothetical Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU is ready to take tough sanctions against Moscow, which may include abandoning the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Under such a scenario, Brussels admits that Russia may, as a response, reduce gas supplies to Europe, which threatens an energy crisis in Europe.