Fayard Shipyard Under Pressure for Repairing Russia-Serving LNG Carriers
Denmark’s Fayard Shipyard has dismissed mounting political pushback for its continued servicing of Russian Arctic LNG tankers. Fayard is reportedly the last EU shipyard still offering maintenance services to the Arc7 ice-class tankers, which are a lifeline for Russia’s Yamal LNG exports. For this role, Fayard shipyard has been heavily criticized for enabling Kremlin trade interests, even as EU embargo on Russian gas is expected to take effect in 2027.
Last week, political criticism against Fayard reached a new level, with the Danish Member of European Parliament(MEP) Villy Søvndal sending an open letter to the yard. The letter is addressed to Fayard’s CEO Thomas Andersen and signed by 104 parliamentarians from 16 European countries. The list of signatories includes 54 MEPs and 50 member of national parliaments. The signatories also represent six European parliament political groups, ranging from the conservatives to liberal formations.
The legislators asked Fayard to consider that servicing the Russian LNG tankers at such a time risks weakening the impact of the upcoming EU’s embargo. “Danish maritime infrastructure should not be used to prolong the operational life of vessels that keep Russian fossil fuel revenues flowing,” added the letter.
The letter comes days after the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized Fayard for its role in Russian LNG trade. Frederiksen said that it is inconceivable that a Danish shipyard is servicing vessels carrying Russian gas.
In response, Fayard maintains that its work complies with the current EU rules. Following the letter, Fayard told EU Observer that there remains significant trade between the EU and Russia of goods that European countries continue to require.
“Fayard does not service Russian vessels. We service vessels owned by international shipping companies operating between the Yamal terminal and European ports in full compliance with all rules and guidelines. We comply with EU decisions, and accordingly these assignments will cease at the end of this year,” added Fayard.
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During the summer, the Arc7 tanker fleet gets an opportunity for maintenance as conventional LNG carriers are able to temporarily replace the vessels along the Arctic route. Already, one of the Arc7 vessels, Rudolf Samoylovich, arrived at the Fayard shipyard on June 30. The environmental campaign group Urgewald expects that up to six Arc7 vessels could require servicing during this summer at Fayard. The facility last year became the only EU shipyard to service these Russian tankers after the Dutch shipbuilder Damen withdrew its services.
But even as civil society and parliamentarians exert pressure on Fayard, recent analysis show that EU has paid an estimated $6.82 billion for Russia’s Yamal Arctic LNG in the first six months of 2026. The analysis by Urgewald shows that out of the 140 cargoes shipped globally during the first half, 136 were delivered to EU ports. This represents over 97% of all Yamal Arctic LNG deliveries.
