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Shadow Logistics of the Arctic
How Russia’s sanctioned megaprojects continue to receive supplies through shadow operators along the Northern Sea Route
The US and EU countries are imposing sanctions on Russia’s energy sector in an effort to constrain the technological development and export capacity of its hydrocarbon giants.
However, the construction of LNG plants and the development of Arctic fields continue unabated. Required cargo keeps arriving at destination ports without disruption. This is made possible by a deliberately structured logistics network of formally independent contractors and transport operators that render supply chains legally permissible, yet opaque.
The commercial interests of resource corporations are masked as the operations of regional transport companies. Formally independent, they in practice function as closed logistics hubs for sanctioned corporations.
In the Arkhangelsk transport hub, a stable group of private operators has taken shape since 2020–2021; its vessels are regularly engaged in navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Key players include Nord Project and Eco Shipping. Both companies operate on Arctic routes, service major infrastructure projects, and appear in episodes associated with sanctions restrictions and elevated regulatory risks.
Arctida has taken a closer look at the logistics of companies transporting cargo along the Northern Sea Route. This is the first investigative piece in a series examining major infrastructure projects in the Arctic.
Nord Project: From Offshore Schemes to Shipyards
Nord Project, a transportation company under U.S. sanctions, positions itself as a key independent operator in Arkhangelsk. The company not only charters vessels but also acts as an operator of subsidized domestic voyages along the Northern Sea Route. A significant portion of its assets was acquired through the leasing structure LK GPB LLC, whose sole beneficiary as of the end of 2022 was Gazprombank.
Behind the company’s image as a successful Arctic logistics operator is Denis Kuzmin, the owner of 90% of its assets. Kuzmin has repeatedly attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies. In the mid-2010s, the regional FSB directorate suspected him of illegally transferring $370,000 abroad using falsified documents for fictitious cargo transportation. However, in 2018, the prosecution was dropped and replaced with a court-imposed fine of 230,000 rubles. The basis for this decision was the company’s status as a significant regional employer and taxpayer: the court took into account its socio-economic contribution and job creation. Two years later, the Arbitration Court upheld a fine of 6.3 million rubles against the company for a fictitious transfer of $130,000 to Golden Breeze Shipping Corp for brokerage services. The actual services were valued at ten thousand dollars, with the difference received by the director.
Kuzmin is actively expanding his business. He owns Arctic Shipping LLC, with assets totaling 4.8 billion rubles; at the end of 2024, he founded SP Chaika LLC, a shipbuilding company highlighted in the media as a model of successful production management.
Kuzmin’s partner and holder of a 5% stake in Nord Project is Dmitry Chernov, who also serves as CEO of the shipbuilding yard. In a 2025 interview in an interview about the shipyard’s official opening, Chernov outlined the Arctic ambitions of their new company:
“At the initial stage, we will build ice-class Arc4 tugboats of the NP19T project, capable of operating in northern sea waters.”
This indicates that the initial plan is to construct relatively small port tugboats with reinforced ice-class design, suitable for operations in northern conditions.
The head of security at Nord Project is Stanislav Glinsky, who has a background in military service. On Glinsky’s VKontakte profile, a bulk carrier Severny Proekt is featured in the background, and his feed regularly includes photos and videos from his time in the military.
Glinsky studied at the Department of Information Technology of Arkhangelsk State Technical University. After graduating, he completed mandatory military service in a technical reconnaissance unit in the settlement of Pechenga in the Murmansk region, a strategically significant area located just 15–20 kilometers from Russia’s border with Norway. After returning from service, Glinsky spent nine years working within the structures of the Federal Penitentiary Service, where he rose to the position of head of the regime and supervision department.
The career of the current head of security at Nord Project combines higher IT education with service in technical intelligence units, implying competencies in radio-electronic monitoring, data protection, communications surveillance, and likely work with navigation equipment.
Administrative Leverage and the Donorship of the Arkhangelsk River Port
Regional authorities actively support the company’s expansion. The Governor of the Arkhangelsk region, Alexander Tsybulsky, who aims to position Arkhangelsk as a key Arctic port in competition with Murmansk, uses Nord Project as a showcase success story. He has successfully lobbied for Arkhangelsk’s inclusion in the subsidized shipping program and in 2025 he personally presented the opening of Polar Trans Port, a railway terminal affiliated with Nord Project.
The official website of Polar Trans Port states that the terminal’s launch creates a “full-cycle logistics” chain to Arctic destinations. This integrated model includes cargo intake via rail and road, handling at a rear terminal, loading at a maritime berth, and shipment along the Northern Sea Route using vessels from the company’s own fleet. It is described as the “Arctic transport and logistics infrastructure of the Nord Project group.” The project also gained public legitimacy following a visit by Yury Trutnev, after which Polar Trans Port was described as a key element of regional logistics on the Far East official portal.
However, the financial foundation of this expansion also has a shadow side.
For many years, the Arkhangelsk River Port, a subsidized enterprise with socially significant responsibilities, served as a financial donor to Nord Project. Its largest shareholder, Konstantin Kuznetsov, was also listed among the founders of Nord Project from 2016 to 2018; his relative remained among the founders until February 4, 2022. The port systematically extended de facto credit to the private company through accounts receivable, receiving no payments for its services, and acted as a guarantor for the logistics company’s loans from VTB Bank, pledging its own assets and fleet as collateral. Kuznetsov himself, in 2019, was sentenced to five years in a high-security penal colony and fined nine million rubles for bribery aimed at securing a monopoly over transportation to the Solovetsky Archipelago. The sentence was later reduced, and subsequently the conviction was expunged altogether on the grounds of “good deeds.”
Hidden Clients: LNG Plants, Builders of “Putin’s Palace,” and Norilsk Nickel
One of the most significant logistics flows handled by the company is tied to the construction of LNG projects on the Gydan Peninsula and other strategic sites in the Russian Arctic. In particular, since at least 2021, Nord Project has been closely cooperating with Novatek.
A key link in this process is Nova LLC, a specialized unit focused on building infrastructure for hydrocarbon extraction and transportation. The company’s ownership structure has undergone notable changes: as reported by Interfax, on October 15, 2019, Leonid Mikhelson became the direct owner of Nova. Prior to August 2018, the asset was owned by his daughter Viktoria, and before 2018–2019, various offshore entities and Russian legal structures were listed among its owners.
Today, Nova is constructing Novatek’s largest facilities, including the Large-Scale Marine Structures Construction Center, while other major clients include Gazprom and Gazprom Neft.
The overlap of its interests with Nord Project is largely concentrated on the Salmanovskoye oil and gas condensate field. This project on the Gydan Peninsula serves as the primary resource base for the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.
Nord Project is involved in contracts related to the State Defense Order and Rosatom’s special projects. The company’s main counterparty is Zapsibgazprom-Gazifikatsiya LLC, a Tyumen-based company within the Zapsibgazprom group. Its website states that the company has carried out comprehensive projects for the Russian Ministry of Defense “in areas above 80° north latitude.” Zapsibgazprom is a major contractor for the construction of military and scientific bases under extreme conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. Its track record includes participation in building the Ministry of Defense’s Arctic bases Severny Klever (Northern Clover) and Arktichesky Trilistnik (Arctic Trefoil).
Nord Project also provides logistics services to nuclear industry enterprises. All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF) is a federal nuclear center within the Rosatom system, located in the historically closed city of Sarov, formerly known as Arzamas-16. The Institute of Experimental Physics carries out essential state missions within the nuclear weapons program. Historically and institutionally, the center is tied to the development of nuclear warheads, and today it is involved in so-called “non-nuclear explosive experiments” and testing of advanced weapons systems at the Russian Federation’s Central Test Site. According to Rosatom industry materials and official statements from the Ministry of Defense, Novaya Zemlya serves as the testing ground for such experiments and expeditions.
Beyond the military industrial and gas sectors, Nord Project is deeply integrated into the business processes of major resource monopolies and the political elite. Three key companies stand out: Logistic Centre TC, Sawmill 25, and Velesstroy.
More on the companies
Eco Shipping: Blocking Sanctions, Criminal Links, and a Family Operation
Alongside Nord Project, Eco Shipping is the second key element of the Arkhangelsk transport hub for megaprojects. The company also positions itself as an independent maritime carrier. Its ownership structure is as follows: 66.67% of assets are controlled by Pavel Andreyev, while the remaining share belongs to Nord-West Territorial Trading Company. In February 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury placed Eco Shipping on the SDN list as an integral part of the logistics network supporting infrastructure construction for the sanctioned megaproject Arctic LNG 2.
In October 2025, the government of the Murmansk region signed a cooperation agreement with the Eco Shipping group. The document was signed by Governor Andrey Chibis and the company’s founder, Pavel Andreev.
It is known that Pavel Andreev, born in 1985 in Novodvinsk (Arkhangelsk region), previously had a conviction under Article 116 of the Russian Criminal Code (battery). According to registration databases, he resided in Arkhangelsk in a building where Artyom Andreev and Ruslan Andreev were also registered. As previously reported by the local outlet Ekho Severa, this address was associated with the well-known Arkhangelsk criminal kingpin Ruslan Andreev, who was later killed.
In recent years, Eco Shipping’s management structure has undergone changes typical of companies seeking to obscure beneficial ownership amid sanctions risks. According to media reports, since January 14, 2025, management functions for Eco Shipping have been carried out by Arctic-Trans LLC. Since June 2024, the sole owner of Arctic-Trans has been abovementioned Artyom Andreev.
The CEO of Arctic-Trans is Sergey Krylov. According to ABN, Krylov previously served as a director within Eco Shipping. Moreover, connections between Krylov and Andreev extend through other companies: according to leaked financial databases, Sergey Krylov previously received official income from Transstroy LLC, a company where Pavel Andreev was also employed.
Energy Giants, Chukotka Copper, and Green Cover: Who Charters Eco Shipping’s Fleet
The energy sector constitutes the core cargo base of Eco Shipping, with Novatek serving as its main client. It is the needs of gas producers that ensure stable utilization for the Arkhangelsk-based carrier.
For several years, the company’s key counterparties have been Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2, operators of the country’s flagship LNG projects. The principal beneficiaries of these structures are Leonid Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko. France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNPC and CNOOC formally remain the shareholders, but their participation in the projects is effectively frozen. In addition to LNG plants under construction, transport and logistics services are also provided to Novatek-Yurkharovneftegaz, an oil and gas production company operating the Yurkharovskoye field, which serves as a resource base for the broader LNG cluster.
The second major logistics area for the operator is the mining sector, focused on gold and copper extraction. A representative example is cooperation with structures linked to the Baimsky Mining and Processing Plant. The development of the giant copper-porphyry Peschanka deposit in Chukotka is considered one of the most expensive mining projects in the world, with capital expenditures exceeding $8 billion.
Read also
Arctida’s study on the climate impact of the Baimskaya Mining and Processing Plant
Five Nuclear “Titanics” in One Bay
Shadow Fleet: From Grain Smuggling to Libyan Ports and Covert Transshipment
The activities of Arctic operators extend far beyond the Northern Sea Route as part of global shadow fleet operations. Vessels formally assigned to northern projects are regularly detected in zones of international conflict and within gray logistics schemes.
Thus, in mid-January 2026, the cargo vessel Mys Zhelaniya was recorded in the port of Tobruk, Libya. The ship delivered a cargo of military nature, reportedly intended for structures associated with the Wagner African Corps, and the unloading took place in the presence of a Russian naval destroyer.
The vessel Mys Zhelaniya is under sanctions imposed by the United States and Ukraine. According to data from Equasis, it is currently owned and operated by Arctic Transportation LLC. The sole founder of this company is Artyom Andreev, who is also linked to the ownership structure of Eco Shipping. The practice of rotating registering legal entities has also been applied to other vessels within the Eco Shipping fleet.
Similar changes in management structure also affected the assets of Pola Rise LLC and the vessel Mys Manorsky, which was previously named Pola Dudinka. In February 2023, the United States placed Polar Rise and 22 affiliated vessels on the SDN blocking list for activities in the maritime sector and for facilitating supplies to Arctic construction projects. In June 2025, the management of the vessel Mys Manorsky, as in the case of other ships in the group, was transferred to Arctic-Trans.
In October 2022, prior to the introduction of restrictions, the vessel Pola Dudinka was involved in ship-to-ship coal transshipment operations for the company Sibanthracite in the Baltic Sea. The logistics mechanism consisted of the following stages:
- Loading coal onto the vessel Pola Dudinka at the Russian port of Ust-Luga.
- Transshipment of the cargo at sea onto the large bulk carrier Syros Island.
- The Syros Island then sailed to Port Said in Egypt, declaring the cargo as not subject to sanctions risks, while Pola Dudinka returned to a Russian port for a new shipment.
Transportation of Agricultural Products and Routes to Syria
Vessels owned by Nord Project are also involved in the export of grain cargoes. In May 2024, the vessel Yenisey, with its AIS system switched off, was identified operating on a route transporting grain from Sevastopol to Venezuela.
Upon arrival in the area of the port of Puerto Cabello, the vessel was denied permission to berth. Industry experts attribute this to the entry into force of the EU’s 14th sanctions package, which imposed restrictions on servicing a number of vessels operating alternative trade routes. Similar grain transport operations have also involved the bulk carrier Siberia.
The cargo ship Severniy Proect has operated voyages between Sevastopol and the port of Latakia, Syria. Such routes typically involve transiting through the territorial waters of neutral or friendly states. This approach allows shipowners to minimize the risk of inspections and port detentions that may occur when passing through international waters.
A large-scale and flexible transport infrastructure has emerged on the basis of regional logistics companies, enabling the functioning of the Russian economy under sanctions pressure. Enterprises historically focused on cabotage and the traditional northern supply system have effectively been transformed into multifunctional dual-use logistics hubs.
Supply chains established through formally independent contractors such as Nord Project and Eco Shipping help mitigate the impact of international restrictions.
Sophisticated ownership structures and frequent changes of founders and managers (many of whom have links to legal disputes and regulatory risks) mask the interests of Russia’s major energy corporations and the military industrial sector. Regional authorities and state financial institutions provide systemic administrative support, preferential treatment, and project financing.
Private maritime carriers have become a key structural element of the new economic reality. Their legally impeccable supply chains enable uninterrupted provisioning of strategic megaprojects such as Arctic LNG 2 and the execution of non-public tasks of the Russian authorities, turning the Arctic transport hub into one of the core instruments of sanctions evasion.
