The critical cog in Putin’s machine and how British firms help to keep Russian gas flowing into Europe
This is the story of how an obscure company based in an office block on a quiet street in Glasgow became an accessory in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. It is the story of how Europe and Russia remain locked in a tense relationship of economic dependence, even as they supposedly cut their ties. It is the story of the uncomfortable truth behind why the cost of living crisis came to an end.
But before all of that, it is the story of a ship – a very unusual ship indeed.
If you ever spot the Yakov Gakkel as it sails through the English Channel or the Irish Sea (I first set eyes on it in the Channel but at the time of writing it was sailing northwards, about 20 miles off the coast of Anglesey) you might not find it all that remarkable.
At first glance it looks like many of the other large, nondescript tankers and cargo vessels passing these shores. Its profile is dominated by an enormous blue prow which reaches high out of the water and ends, 50 metres further back, at its unexpectedly angular stern.
Yet the ship’s slightly odd shape – all hull and barely any deck – is the first clue about what makes the Yakov Gakkel so special. Because this is one of the world’s most advanced liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, with an unusual trick up its sleeve.
The Yakov Gakkel tanker
LNG tankers are extraordinary ships, with insides so cleverly engineered they are capable of holding vast amounts of natural gas at temperatures of approximately −163C.
For all that the world is embracing renewable energy, natural gas remains one of the most important energy sources, essential for much of Europe’s heating and power, not to mention its industries. For the time being, there is no cheap way of making many industrial products, from glass and paper to critical chemicals and fertilisers, without gas.
Once upon a time, moving natural gas from one part of the world to another necessitated sending it down long, expensive, vulnerable pipelines, meaning only countries with a physical connection to gas producers could receive this vital fuel. But LNG tankers like the Yakov Gakkel are part of the answer to this problem, since they allow gas producers to send it by sea to anywhere with a terminal capable of turning their supercooled methane back into the gas we use to heat our homes and power our grids.
Politicians in Europe promised to end the continent’s reliance on Russian gas
But the Yakov Gakkel can also do something most other LNG tankers cannot, for that enormous blue double hull allows it to carve through ice, enabling it to travel up into the Arctic Circle and back even in the depths of winter.
And that is precisely what this ship does, more or less constantly: travelling back and forth between Siberia and Europe, through winter and summer, bringing copious volumes of gas from Russia to Europe. It is part of the explanation for how Europe never ran out of gas, even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This is not, it’s worth saying, the conventional wisdom. Back when Russia invaded Ukraine, European policymakers declared they planned to eliminate the continent’s reliance on Russian gas – which accounted for roughly a third of their supplies before 2022.
And many assumed that had already happened – especially after the Nord Stream pipeline, the single biggest source of European gas imports, was sabotaged in late 2022. But while volumes of Russian pipeline gas into Europe have dropped dramatically, the amount of Russian LNG coming into Europe has risen to record levels.
LNG tankers sail between Siberia and various ports in Europe, including Zeebrugge
Russia helps Europe replenish gas stores
Today, Europe still depends on Russia for around 15% of its gas, an ever-growing proportion of which now comes in via the sealanes, on tankers like the Yakov Gakkel. And while the US has stepped in to make up some of the volumes lost when those pipelines stopped, only last month Russia overtook the US to become the second biggest provider of gas to the continent. It’s further evidence that those LNG volumes carried on ships through the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the English Channel, are increasing, rather than falling.
This Russian gas has helped Europe replenish its gas stores, it has helped keep the continent’s heavy industry going throughout the Ukraine war. And this dependence has not come cheap: the total amount Europe has paid Russia for LNG since 2022 comes to around €10bn.
The continued presence of Russian gas running through European grids is at least part of the explanation for why European energy prices have fallen so sharply since those post-invasion highs. Back then, many in the market were pricing in a complete end of Russian gas supply to Europe – something that would have had disastrous consequences. But it never actually happened.
Perhaps this explains why the continent’s politicians have, so far, stopped short of banning imports of Russian gas: they are aware that their economy would struggle to withstand another sharp spike in inflation – which would almost certainly eventuate if it stopped taking Russian gas altogether.
Russian gas has helped keep Europe’s heavy industry going throughout the Ukraine war
This week, European leaders agreed to stop allowing Russia to use its ports to “trans-ship” its LNG – essentially acting as a stop-off point towards other destinations. However, those transshipments account for only a fraction – at most a quarter – of the Russian gas coming in on tankers to Europe. The vast majority ends up in Belgium, France and Spain, heating European homes, fuelling power stations and powering machinery in factories.
While European leaders have imposed wide-ranging sanctions and price caps on shipments of oil, no such controls exist for liquefied natural gas. So the Yakov Gakkel and a fleet of LNG tankers carry on sailing between Siberia and various ports in Europe – Zeebrugge, Dunkirk, Montoir and Bilbao – keeping the continent supplied with the Russian hydrocarbons it still cannot live without.
British firm’s role in lucrative trade
But there is another reason why this ship is particularly unique, for the Yakov Gakkel – this critical cog in the financial machine that helps finance the Russian regime – is actually part-owned and operated by a British company.
That brings us back to a street overlooking the Clyde in Glasgow, where, in a glass-fronted office block, you will find the operational headquarters of a company called Seapeak. The chances are you haven’t heard of Seapeak before, but this business owns and operates a fleet of LNG tankers all across the world.
That fleet includes the Yakov Gakkel and four other LNG icebreakers that ply this Siberian trade. That a British company might be facilitating this lucrative trade for Russia might come as a surprise, but there is nothing illegal about this: the sanctions regime on Russia just turns out to be significantly more porous than you might have thought.
We tried repeatedly to speak to Seapeak – to ask them about the Yakov Gakkel and whether they felt it was appropriate – given the UK has forsworn LNG imports – that a British company and British workers are helping administer this Russian trade. We sent emails with questions. However, they did not respond to our calls or our emails.
When, after weeks of efforts to get a response, I visited their offices in Glasgow, I was met by a security guard who told me Seapeak would not see me without an appointment (which they were refusing to give me). Eventually I was told that if I would not leave they would call the police.
A security guard at Seapeak’s offices in Glasgow said no one was available to speak to Sky News
Seapeak is not the only British company helping keep Russian gas flowing. While British insurers are banned from protecting oil tankers carrying Russian crude, there’s no equivalent sanction on Russian LNG ships, with the upshot that many of these tankers are insured by British companies operating out of the Square Mile.
We spent some time tracking another icebreaking tanker, the Vladimir Rusanov, as it approached Zeebrugge. It is insured by the UK P&I Club, which also insures a number of other LNG carriers.
In a statement, it said: “The UK Club takes great care to observe all applicable sanctions regulations in relation to Russian energy cargoes, but the direct carriage of LNG from Yamal to Zeebrugge, and provision of insurance services for such carriage, is not presently sanctioned. If the EU and G7 nations were to change their policy… the Club would of course comply by adjusting or withdrawing its services, as necessary.”
The Vladimir Rusanov off the coast of Zeebrugge
The transport of Russian gas into Europe – its dependence on British operators and insurers – is only one small example of the loopholes and omissions in the UK sanctions regime. But while government ministers have expressed concern about the effectiveness of the broader sanctions regime, there is still scant evidence they intend to tighten up this corner of it.
Before the election was called the Treasury Select Committee was in the middle of collecting evidence for its own inquiry into the regime, which was expected to focus on insurers of vessels taking Russian goods. However, the inquiry was wound up prematurely when the election was called in May.
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In the meantime, ships like the Yakov Gakkel carry on taking billions of cubic metres of gas from the gas fields of Yamal in Siberia down to Europe, in exchange for billions of euros. And those and other hydrocarbon revenues are one of the main explanations for how Russia is able to produce more missiles and weapons than the Ukrainians.
So Europe carries on fuelling its industry and its power and heating grids with molecules of gas coming from Siberian gasfields, while assuring itself it’s doing everything it can to fight Vladimir Putin.
It is, in short, a discomforting situation. But given the alternative is to induce another cost of living crisis, there is little appetite in Europe to change things.
UK
Hainault sword attacker Marcus Monzo found guilty of murdering boy, 14, and three attempted murders
A man has been found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old boy with a samurai sword as he walked to school in east London.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 37, nearly decapitated Daniel Anjorin and attacked five others during a 20-minute rampage in Hainault on 30 April last year.
Prosecutors said he skinned and deboned his pet cat Wizard before trying “to kill as many people as he could” while under the influence of cannabis.
Monzo, a Spanish-Brazilian national from Newham in east London, admitted two charges of possessing an offensive weapon relating to two swords, which he said he bought for display purposes.
He claimed he had no memory of carrying out the attacks denied Daniel’s murder along with four charges of attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
He was cleared of one count of attempted murder – instead found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm – and convicted of all other charges following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Daniel Anjorin, 14, died in April last year. Pic: Metropolitan Police
The court heard Monzo was a “talented martial artist” and the jury was shown footage of him unboxing a samurai sword on 4 April last year.
In the four-minute video clip, he calls the weapon “freaking sexy” as he lunges towards the camera and makes different moves.
Marcus Monzo with a samurai sword in footage shown during the trial
The court was also shown CCTV footage from the morning of 30 April, with audible screams in one clip as Monzo drove his grey Ford Transit van at speed into pedestrian Donato Iwule.
Mr Iwule told jurors: “I thought I was dying” and “I saw blood coming out of my neck”, after he was struck with a sword before running away.
Witnesses described how Monzo was running around “like a maniac” and “looked a bit mad, like there was nothing there”.
Daniel, who had left home at around 7am wearing headphones and school sports clothes, suffered “a near-decapitation” when Monzo attacked him with the weapon from behind, prosecutor Tom Little KC told the jury.
Monzo was tasered by police. Pic: PA
PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield chased the armed attacker through alleyways before Monzo struck her three times with the 60cm blade using “extreme force”, the court heard.
He then entered a nearby house through the back door and walked upstairs before attacking sleeping couple Sindy Arias and Henry De Los Rios Polania, who he asked: “Do you believe in God?”
Mr Little said their lives were only spared because their four-year-old daughter, who was sleeping nearby, woke up and started to cry.
Monzo, who had been cornered by police, also struck Inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was finally disarmed and arrested after trying to climb onto a garage to escape.
Doorbell footage shows the moment officers shout: “Don’t move, don’t f****** move”, after he was brought to the ground by three separate taser discharges.
Monzo told police he had “many personalities”, including a “professional assassin”, and compared the events to The Hunger Games film franchise.
He wept while giving evidence as he said he did not intend to harm anybody and told jurors he had no memory of what happened.
He told how he had previously used psychedelic drugs and smoked cannabis “three or four times a week” before the attack, but denied doing so on the day.
Prosecutors said he likely suffered from a psychotic disorder with “schizophrenic-like symptoms”, including “delusional beliefs” that both he and his family were in “mortal danger”.
But Mr Little said his psychotic state was self-induced and did not meet the threshold for diminished responsibility.
Thousands of Eurostar passengers have been suffering severe delays and last-minute cancellations due to cable theft – a day after two track fatalities caused disruption.
The latest delays come after 600 metres of copper cables were stolen overnight in the city of Lille in northern France, according to reports in the country.
Eurostar said this was forcing it to run services on alternative routes, causing extended journey times.
The company said in a statement that “full repairs are now completed” and trains resumed as normal as of 1pm UK time.
It added that “some delays can still be expected until the end of the day”.
The statement continued: “Customers have been contacted directly with updates and available options, and Eurostar is advising those due to travel today to postpone their journey with free exchanges and refunds available.
“We’re very sorry for the continued disruption and the impact this is having on our customers. Our teams are working hard to support customers in the stations.”
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Eurostar said services between Brussels/Paris and London had been experiencing disruption since the beginning of the day.
Its services were already disrupted because many trains and staff members were out of position after two fatalities on rail lines in France on Tuesday.
At least five services on its London-Paris route were cancelled on Wednesday, and seven others were delayed by around an hour.
Passengers at St Pancras International station in London. Pic: PA
The operator said it was handing out water to passengers on delayed trains, and it has teams at stations to provide assistance.
Affected passengers are able to change their travel plans free of charge or request a full refund.
Images show large crowds of stranded passengers at St Pancras International station in London today.
In a post on X, Eurostar said the cable theft meant trains were likely to be “subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations”, adding: “We advise you to cancel or postpone your trip.”
Nigel Hardman, 57, took an Avanti West Coast train from Blackpool to London Euston at 5.30am, only for him and his family to find out en route that their Eurostar trip to Paris had been cancelled.
The delays have meant they have decided to board a train to Brussels instead of Paris, meaning they have lost out on about £700 on hotel costs and connecting trains.
Delayed passengers at St Pancras. Pic: PA
Mr Hardman, a plumber from Blackpool, said: “There’s no availability on trains to Paris – they’re all booked up. We’re going to go to Brussels and stay there, then shoot down to Strasbourg, where we were supposed to be. I only found out on an email at about 3.30am this morning, why couldn’t they have told us last night?
“And when we got here, we were in the queue for an hour before we found out the other trains to Paris were all booked up. Everyone was useless until one really organised guy was telling it to us straight. It’s going to cost us about £700 extra which is really frustrating. And it’s just a nightmare start to our trip.”
Eurostar passenger Elizabeth Romijn, 75, a yoga teacher from the Netherlands said she is used to issues with the train service, but described Wednesday’s disruption as “very chaotic”.
She was planning to make her way home, catching the train to Brussels today after visiting friends in Guildford, Sussex and has decided to wait in the station to see if she can board a train.
Ms Romijn said: “My plan is to just wait. Maybe I should go and be more proactive and go to ask one of the staff but nobody seems to know anything. And it’s quite horrible long queues.
“On the email they said, don’t go, go cancel your travel or take a voucher or something – but I thought I’m going to travel anyway. I’m just going to wait and if it’s cancelled, then I go back to Guildford where I’ve been visiting my friends.”
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Passengers at St Pancras International station .
Pic: PA
Eurostar had said in a statement following the deaths on Tuesday: “We are deeply sorry to confirm that there were two separate fatalities on the LGV Nord high-speed line between Lille and Paris yesterday.
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives.
“The line was closed for much of the afternoon and evening, resulting in significant disruption to Eurostar services, including cancellations on routes to and from Paris.
“Trains on the London-Brussels-Amsterdam route continued to run with delays.
“This morning, disruption continues due to the knock-on impact of displaced trains and crew.
“Further to this, services have been further affected by an incident of cable theft on the same line near Lille.”
Angela Rayner has refused to repeat Rachel Reeves’ pledge that taxes will not be increased at the next budget.
Standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs, the deputy prime minister was pressed on warnings from economists that tax rises are looking increasingly inevitable in the autumn to fund the chancellor’s spending plans.
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The Tories want a commitment that this will not be the case in order to support the government’s welfare bill, which is under threat from a growing and significant rebellion of Labour MPs.
Shadow chancellor Mel stride, standing in for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, said even if the planned benefit cuts go through, “almost every respected economist now says tax rises are all but inevitable in the autumn”.
He said Ms Reeves promised after her last budget that this will not be the case and asked Ms Rayner to give “certainty” to businesses and repeat that pledge.
Ms Rayner said the question was “a bit rich” given the Tories raised taxes to record highs before the last election, adding: “I take no lectures”.
Mr Stride pressed her on analysis from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) that local authorities will have to raise council tax to the maximum level allowed to pay for local services.
Angela Rayner
He said: “The IFS says that the spending review will mean the biggest council tax increases in a generation.
“A £7bn tax rise and yet the chancellor and the prime minister have repeatedly claimed that the government will not raise taxes on working people. So can I ask… why doesn’t she think the council tax is paid by working people?”
Ms Rayner again attacked the Tories’ record, saying he had “absolute nerve” as council tax “rose every single year under that government”.
She said Labour was “delivering money for local government, when they had austerity, put taxes up and ruined the British economy”.
Ms Reeves unveiled her spending review earlier this month, which outlined how much day-to-day funding government departments will get over the next three years, along with capital spending for longer-term projects.
The chancellor has insisted her plans are fully funded, but Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, has said she has left herself such little headroom that “any move in the wrong direction” for the economy would “almost certainly spark more tax rises”.
Any tax hikes would likely spark a backlash given Ms Reeves’ said last November that there would be no more tax hikes during this government’s term, following her decision to raise employer National Insurance in the autumn budget.
The government is facing further trouble as a key part of the spending review was a package of reforms aimed at shaving £5bn off the welfare budget by 2030.
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Sky’s Tamara Cohen explains.
However, an unprecedented rebellion of over 100 MPs is threatening that legislation, which is due to be voted on next Tuesday.
Ms Rayner today insisted the vote will go ahead.
She said: “I’ll tell the right honourable member why we’re pressing ahead with our reforms.
“That is because we’re investing £1 billion into tailored employment support, a right to try to help more people back into work and ending reassessments for the most severely disabled who will never be able to work.
“We won’t walk away and stand by and abandon millions of people trapped in the failing system left behind by him and his colleagues.”
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