A row has intensified over the diversion of a Russian cargo of LNG with trader Gunvor blaming the buyer Energia Argentina Sociedad Anonima (Enarsa) and the Argentinian company pointing to the Russian origins of the shipment.
Gunvor told TradeWinds the LNG cargo — which is being carried on Flex LNG’s 173,400-cbm Flex Artemis (built 2020) — was diverted because of Enarsa’s “inability to pay”.
“The decision to order the vessel to depart was made solely by Gunvor in an effort to mitigate its losses,” the trader said.
But Argentina’s economy minister Sergio Massa was quoted by Reuters as saying: Enarsa blocked that delivery because it violates the contract, because it is a company with sanctions.”
Bloomberg quoted Enarsa president Agustin Gerez as saying Banco de la Navion Argentina would not accept payment for the fuel because of sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Gerez said the bank’s Madrid branch, which handled the transaction, “doesn’t pay for operations with Russian intermediaries”.
But Russian LNG cargoes have been moving freely into Europe since the start of the conflict, despite recent calls from some European nations to block them.
In the first quarter of 2023, Russian LNG imports to the EU accounted for 16% of all LNG shipped into the block and 7% of total natural gas imports with the bulk being imported through Spanish terminals followed by those in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
The LNG cargo at the centre of the Gunvor-Enarsa row is a shipment from Yamal LNG in Russia which was loaded onto Flex Artemis in France’s Mointoir-de-Bretagne terminal in France on 25 June.
The LNG carrier left Argentina on 18 July, according to Kpler data and is shown heading north.
Gunvor declined to comment on the intended destination for the shipment.
Responding to questions about the shipment, a Gunvor spokesman told this publication: “The lawfulness of the LNG transaction is not in question. Gunvor complied with all applicable economic sanctions, specifically those of the United States and the European Union.”
The trader pointed to other news reports on the cargo diversion which stated that Argentina has no sanctions against Russia and may be facing an oversupply of natural gas due to an unseasonably warm winter.
Gunvor’s spokesman slammed what the company described as “an alleged decision by Enarsa’s European bank to self-sanction” or “act beyond the laws in place, and deny Enarsa the ability to pay has no bearing on the legality of the transaction or the legal policy of Argentina toward Russia.
“It is further verifiably documented that Enarsa had been appropriately informed and was aware of product origin pursuant to contractual agreements,” he said.
