Dark Ship Appears to Transfer Sanctioned Russia LNG Off Malaysia

A dark tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from a US-sanctioned Russian export plant has positioned itself for a rare open-water fuel transfer off the coast of Malaysia, satellite images show, in a demonstration of the increasingly circuitous routes taken by Moscow to evade Western restrictions.

The Perle, which was sanctioned by the US earlier this year, is currently anchored parallel to another vessel approximately 90 kilometers east of the Malaysian peninsula, according to Sentinel-2 satellite images taken Oct.