Berlin, June 1, 2026
This analysis was published as an exclusive with the Financial Times.
Campaigners and Ukrainian civil society groups have warned that Denmark’s Fayard shipyard, owned and led by Thomas Wilkens Andersen and the Andersen family, is helping to maintain and prolong Russia’s Arctic LNG trade by repairing specialised tankers that move gas from the Kremlin-linked Yamal LNG project.
Analysis by Urgewald, using Kpler vessel-tracking data, indicates that up to 6 Arc7 ice-class LNG tankers could require servicing this summer. The estimate is based on observed repair patterns, indicating that vessels in this fleet require major servicing roughly every 3 years, reflecting the demanding Arctic conditions in which they operate.
Since February 24, 2022, each of the identified vessels has helped move an average of 5.3 million tonnes of Russian LNG, worth an estimated €4 billion. Across their full operating period, the same 6 vessels have helped move Russian LNG associated with an illustrative TTF based market value of approximately €32.3 billion, or around €5.4 billion per vessel.
Campaigners say repairing them now could hand Russia freshly serviced ships with a proven record of generating major LNG revenues, just as Europe prepares to close its ports and terminals to Russian gas.
Since their commissioning, two European shipyards have serviced the Arc7 fleet: Damen Shiprepair Brest in France, owned by the Dutch Damen group, and Fayard in Denmark. Urgewald’s analysis identified 17 port calls at Fayard and 16 at Damen overall. However, 15 of Fayard’s 17 port calls — compared with only 8 of Damen’s 16 — took place after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The last Arc7 vessel to call at Damen did so in July to August 2024. Damen subsequently decided to stop repairing Russian LNG tankers, leaving Fayard as the only remaining EU shipyard capable of carrying out these specialist repairs. As the data shows, Fayard has made extensive use of this position.
The figures show Europe remains the logistical backbone of Putin’s flagship Arctic project, which he personally launched in 2017 and which depends on a small fleet of specialised Arc7 ice-class vessels to keep exports moving through Arctic waters.
With the EU’s latest ban on maritime services for LNG vessels operating in Russia set to take effect on 1 January 2027, this summer’s repair window may be Russia’s last opportunity to service Arc7 vessels in Europe.
Fayard now faces a clear choice: profit from business that ultimately comes at Ukraine’s expense, or help tighten the screws on Russia’s LNG export machine. It remains unclear how Russia will seek to keep Yamal LNG operating once the full EU ban takes effect, but the Arc7 fleet remains the critical bottleneck.
Fayard is not a marginal actor in this story. It is a major, family-owned Danish repair yard controlled by one of the country’s wealthiest families. According to the Økonomisk Ugebrev’s 2024 rich list.
Fayard did not respond to our request for comment.
Alexander Kirk, Sanctions Campaigner at Urgewald, said:
“The Damen Shipyard has already stepped away from this work. Fayard and the Andersen family should stop benefitting from this business.
“This is not routine ship repair. Every Arc7 tanker serviced in Denmark could help prolong Russian Arctic LNG exports for years and send millions more back to the Kremlin.
“The Andersen family has owned and led this shipyard for more than 100 years. They have to decide what that legacy stands for.
“They can stand with Ukraine, or they can be remembered as the family that helped keep Putin’s gas fleet running in Europe’s hour of need.”
Vladimir Slivyak, Right Livelihood Award laureate and co-founder of Ecodefense, said:
“Fayard should not give Putin’s LNG fleet one last service before the EU closes its ports. If these ships are repaired now, they could later fall into Russian hands as pristine, freshly serviced vessels, ready to keep carrying gas for the Kremlin.
“European shipyards must not help Russia extend the life of its Arctic gas fleet or protect a revenue stream that feeds the war.”
Dr Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Executive Director of Razom We Stand, said:
“Every company continuing to service Russian LNG tankers, and thus support Russia’s fossil fuel trade, is making a conscious decision about what side of history they stand on. Maintaining these Arctic LNG tankers helps sustain the revenues that finance Russia’s war, and as a consequence the death and suffering of Ukrainians.”
“Denmark has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, and Danish companies should reflect that sentiment. Fayard and the Andersen family should not undermine solidarity with Ukraine, and must now refuse to service vessels connected to Russian Arctic LNG.”
Notes to editors
About Damen and Fayard
Previous reporting identified Damen Shiprepair Brest in France and Fayard in Denmark as the 2 European shipyards servicing Russia’s specialised Arc7 LNG fleet.
Damen said it had decided at the start of 2025 to stop repairing Russian LNG tankers. A Damen spokesperson told ICIS that previous repairs had been permitted under EU sanctions legislation, but that the company had decided to refrain from further work on this type of ship.
Fayard A/S is based at Odense Port in Denmark. Fayard’s website says the company was founded by the Andersen family in 1916 and remains owned and led by Thomas Andersen, a third-generation member of the family.
Urgewald estimates that:
• 6 Arc7 vessels are likely to require servicing in 2026, based on previous repair cycle data • Since February 24, 2022, each vessel has moved an average of 5.3 million tonnes of Russian LNG
• Each Arc7 LNG carrier moves an average of 1.2-1.5 million tonnes per year.
• Using a conservative forward looking benchmark price of €37.50 per MWh, equivalent to approximately €514 per tonne of LNG, each vessel moving 1.2 to 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year would be associated with an illustrative value of approximately €600 million to €800 million per vessel per year. Across 6 vessels, this could amount to approximately €3.7 billion to €4.6 billion in further Russian LNG value per year, if the vessels continue operating at similar utilisation levels.
Methodology note
Full dataset and walkthrough available on request.
The revenue estimates are illustrative and are based on historic vessel utilisation using Kpler vessel tracking data. LNG volumes were converted into energy using an assumed conversion factor of 13.7 MWh per tonne of LNG, then valued using Dutch TTF benchmark prices as a proxy for market value.
For the historic estimates, Urgewald applies a time weighted TTF based value of €348 per tonne of LNG for the period from 1 January 2018 to 23 February 2022, and €774 per tonne of LNG for the period from 24 February 2022 to 30 April 2026, using the latest complete monthly data available.
These estimates do not represent contract prices or actual payments received, and exclude transport, insurance, regasification costs, trading margins and intra EU resale dynamics.
They should not be read as a forecast of future EU imports, which are expected to be curtailed by incoming sanctions. Instead, they indicate the scale of Russian LNG value these vessels have historically helped enable, and the potential value of keeping them operational through further servicing.
Campaign demands
Campaigners and Ukrainian civil society groups are calling on Fayard and the Andersen family to:
• Refuse all repair and maintenance work on Arctic LNG tankers transporting Russian LNG. • Publicly confirm that no vessels calling at Russian LNG export terminals will be accepted for maintenance services. • Stand with Ukraine by ensuring Danish maritime infrastructure is not used to prolong Kremlin fossil fuel revenues.
