There has been harsh criticism of the Danish shipyard Fayard because, despite the war in Ukraine, it has continued to service a number of gas carriers transporting millions of tonnes of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Arctic.
And now yet another ship carrying Russian gas is on its way to the shipyard on Funen. This is revealed by ship data and photographs taken by Danwatch of the vessel as it entered the Port of Odense. The vessel in question is the 299-metre-long ship Rudolf Samoylovich, which was delivered to the giant Yamal facility in Russia in 2018.
Since December 2025, the vessel has also been on Ukraine’s sanctions list, where the Ukrainian authorities state, amongst other things, that “The tanker is involved in the Russian Federation’s energy sector, the profits from which are one of the most important sources of revenue for the aggressor state’s budget”.
Sebastian Rötters, campaign manager at the German NGO Urgewald, believes it is deeply problematic that the shipyard is still maintaining the ships.
“Fayard has the opportunity to cause real problems for Russia’s Arctic LNG business and thereby increase the pressure on Russia. Instead, strictly speaking, Fayard is profiting from the war in Ukraine, because the entire market for the maintenance of Arc7 tankers has been left to them,” he says.
According to Urgewald’s analysis, five other LNG tankers operatingfor the Yamal LNG project in the Arctic are due for servicing this year. The Danish shipyard has long been criticised for repairing LNG tankers carrying Russian gas, as experts and a number of politicians believe this contributes to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Among others, last year Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) described it as “inconceivable” that a Danish shipyard should be servicing ships carrying Russian gas. And most recently, Villy Søvndal, an MEP for SF, has called for an investigation into whether Fayard is acting in breach of EU sanctions.
“It’s embarrassing that there is a company so out of touch that it has not yet stopped doing this. And it would be embarrassing for Denmark if we don’t launch an investigation into Fayard,” Villy Søvndal told TV 2 earlier this month.
Servicing will become illegal from next year
From January next year, it will be illegal for Fayard to provide servicing to ships carrying Russian gas. The EU’s new sanctions package, adopted on 23 April, will restrict Russia’s gas and oil projects and, consequently, the servicing and maintenance of tankers and icebreakers transporting liquefied natural gas.
However, Sebastian Rötters cannot understand why Fayard has not chosen to discontinue this part of its business of its own accord, even though the shipyard is not doing anything illegal.
“Fayard can, of course, argue that it is not illegal to continue servicing these ships. But they can also watch the news, see Russia’s crimes in Ukraine and the hybrid attacks against Europe. They are aware of the allegations that the ships are crewed by FSB agents. Yet they still open the shipyard gates to them because there is money to be made — blood money,” he says.
The Danish shipyard, owned by billionaire Thomas Andersen, is the last one in Europe currently helping the fleet of icebreaking gas carriers transport Russian LNG. In 2025, the French shipyard Damen Shiprepair in Brest decided to stop servicing Arctic LNG tankers because of the war in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Minister for Business and Competitiveness, Martin Lidegaard (R), stated that Denmark has been among those pushing to put an end to the servicing. At the same time, he emphasised that companies are free to stop on their own accord.
“Let me make it absolutely clear that our authorities are keeping a close eye on the situation and will carry out the necessary investigations if anyone crosses the line. But that does not mean that, in the meantime, Danish companies cannot exercise their own judgement and say a clear ‘no’ to helping the Russian war machine,” the minister told TV2.
Here, the ship Rudolf Samoylovich is seen entering the Port of Odense. Video: Tim Kildeborg Jensen
Danwatch asked Fayard why it continues to provide servicing to Rudolf Samoylovich despite the criticism. Fayard points out states that it complies with all applicable regulations.
“Fayard supports the EU’s energy policy and sanctions against Russia. The Commission has decided that LNG from Yamal is necessary for Europe’s energy supply until 2027, and therefore we service specific international ships that sail to European ports to deliver natural gas to Europe, to order to ensure maritime safety and support the EU. We do not service Russian ships,” the company stated in a written comment.
