Fayard A/S in Odense, Denmark, is the only European Union shipyard still providing critical dry-dock maintenance for Russia’s Arctic LNG fleet. The facility services specialized Arc7 ice-class tankers under a legal loophole in EU sanctions, which exempts the maintenance of vessels transporting Siberian gas deemed necessary for Europe’s energy supply.
The facility maintains 15 specialized Arc7 ice-class LNG tankers transporting gas from Siberia’s Yamal LNG plant. Few Western yards can provide the specific dry-dock maintenance these vessels require. Until early 2025, Fayard shared this role with Damen Shiprepair in Brest, France; the two yards serviced 14 of the 15 Yamal vessels between February 2022 and July 2024.
Damen Shiprepair ceased operations for the Russian fleet in early 2025. Spokesperson Robin Middel confirmed the decision aligned with the foreign policy of the shipyard’s Dutch parent company to discourage support for Russian LNG exports. This exit left Fayard as the sole provider of such services within the EU.
Fayard A/S maintains it adheres strictly to EU political guidelines and the 18th sanctions package, which does not prohibit these specific maintenance services. The Odense yard recently serviced the Nikolay Urvantsev on June 25, 2025, and the Fedor Litke on July 17, 2025.
The lack of EU maintenance options forces Russian operators to seek repairs in Asia, specifically in Chinese yards such as Zhoushan. This shift increased operational costs and transit times for Novatek, the Russian energy firm operating the Yamal project. Some sanctioned carriers remained at Chinese facilities for nearly two months, highlighting the inefficiency of Asian alternatives compared to EU infrastructure.
The European Commission is negotiating a phase-out of Russian LNG imports, targeting the end of short-term sales by late 2025 and a full phase-out by 2027 or 2028. Until then, the legal loophole exempting the maintenance of these gas carriers remains part of the EU’s energy security strategy.