Engie SA’s Gaselys LNG tanker, which was carrying liquefied natural gas, was due to arrive in Boston on Saturday, but made the U-turn back to Spain’s port of Algeciras.
It is unknown why the vessel changed paths on its way to the Massachusetts’ capital suffering with plummeting temperatures, which had resulted in high gas demand in the US Northeast.
The journey came after the Chris De Margerie picked up a cargo from Novatek PAO’s Yamal facility, Russia’s second LNG export terminal, on December 9 and dropped it off at National Grid Plc’s Isle of Grain LNG facility near London on December 28.
The Engie SA tanker then picked up LNG from the UK facility on December 30 before it made its way to the US.
According to Bloomberg, it is not unusual for cargoes that are not tied to a contract with fixed destinations to change course in a bid to seek the highest prices.
The Yamal LNG project in the Russian Arctic began in December and plans to deliver to 14 cargoes by April.
This is despite US financial sanctions imposed in 2014 due to Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
The scheduled arrival of the Christophe de Margerie LNG tanker on December 28 was the first delivery to arrive by ship, with the loading of the tanker personally overseen by Vladimir Putin himself.
While Western sanctions do not directly Yamal LNG, other sanctions have cut off Russian energy companies from finance or technology for certain projects after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
British homes are also heated by gas from the Russian project as Moscow insists Europe will remain reliant on gas from Russia.