Vladimir Putin is facing allegations of embedding FSB security agency operatives on the supertankers of a Glasgow-based company that transports natural gas from Siberia to Europe.
Ukrainian campaigners have issued a stark warning about Seapeak Maritime, suggesting the firm's operations could be inadvertently supporting Russia's aggressive military campaign. They have called for the firm to be shut down.
The Sunday Mail has uncovered that US tycoon Michael Dorrell is behind the controversial company.
Allegations have surfaced that Putin's agents have employed coercive tactics to displace western senior crew members aboard vessels carrying supercooled LNG gas from Sabetta in the Arctic Circle, replacing them with Russian nationals suspected of espionage for the FSB.
The LNG sector plays a pivotal role in generating substantial revenue for the Kremlin, which is believed to finance the conflict in Ukraine—a war that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Svitlana Romanko, the executive director of Ukrainian advocacy group Razom We Stand, expressed her dismay: "Why UK leaders continue to allow Seapeak to collaborate with Russia, helping bankroll our pain, is beyond me."
She called for decisive action: "The UK should immediately ban Seapeak and all other UK-based firms from collaborating with Russia. Scandalous revelations related to the shipping of Russian fossil fuels appear to have no end."
Romanko highlighted the dire situation in her homeland: "Meanwhile, those of us in Ukraine continue to suffer daily from ongoing horrific Russian military attacks, funded largely by Russia's fossil fuel exports."
Seapeak Maritime boasts a fleet of seven oil tankers that facilitate the export of Russian LNG from Siberia directly into European markets.
The trade, while legal due to sanctions loopholes, has been criticised for providing Putin with much-needed funds. Allegations have surfaced that FSB agents have been systematically working to oust Western crews from tankers operating at the Yamal LNG project in Siberia.
Norwegian High North News journalists have interviewed crew members who recounted hours of interrogation by agents, in an attempt to replace Western officers with Russian personnel. It's alleged that the FSB has established a network of informants among Russian officers.
Claims suggest that Western workers have been taken ashore and threatened with arrest if they return to Russia, only to be replaced by Russian crew. A former crew member shared: " When they take you ashore, they're using an FSB car, which is not a normal car."
He added, "It's a truck with barred windows. And you are under supervision of three armed guards. So, they took you ashore to have a 'discussion' with three armed guards."
Seapeak, based on Elliot Street in Glasgow, is one of the main operators of LNG tankers out of Siberia. Companies House records list Christopher McDade and Anne-Catherine Gati as directors, while Dorrell has overall control over the company.
Australian-born Dorrell is the CEO and founder of Stonepeak, a £100billion infrastructure investment giant. He is believed to own a £150million private island in Palm Beach, Florida.
Green MSP Ross Greer commented on the allegations, stating: "These allegations are shocking, but not surprising."
Activist voices are growing louder, demanding a response to allegations that Seapeak has been financially supporting Russia's military actions. One claimant voiced their frustration: "We have repeatedly raised serious concerns about Seapeak's role in bankrolling the Russian war machine, but the UK Government has failed to act."
There is a broadening chorus of discontent regarding the financial underpinnings of the conflict in Ukraine, with accusations made plain: "Putin's invasion of Ukraine is built on profits from energy exports. Companies like Seapeak have made a fortune by shipping gas out of Russia, and now it appears the Kremlin's intelligence services are effectively in control of the vessels and their crews."
Calls for immediate intervention are being amplified: "UK ministers cannot keep ignoring this. Seapeak must be sanctioned and its operations in the UK shut down."
The continuation of Seapeak's business from Glasgow is causing anger amongst supporters of Ukraine, with one individual stating: "The fact that it continues to do business from an office in Glasgow is an insult to the heroic people of Ukraine. These new revelations clearly also require an investigation by the UK security services."
The gravity of potential security threats is raising alarms: "If a company based here has been compromised by Kremlin agents, that cannot be allowed to continue."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to the UK prohibiting entry to ships connected with Russia. Additionally, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has imposed new restrictions on "shadow" oil and LNG tankers.
Yet, there's no specific ban on UK firms shipping Russian gas elsewhere.
Seapeak, operating tankers like Yakov Gakkel which transits gas from Siberia across Europe, is currently acting within legal bounds and not violating sanctions, despite the controversy this raises among those who want to see a tighter closure of perceived loopholes.
Over 20 pro-Ukraine NGOs, alongside SNP and Labour figures, have endorsed a letter orchestrated by Razom We Stand, which advocates for a prohibition on Russian fossil fuels. It's been estimated that the Yamal region possesses a quarter of the planet's gas reserves.
Seapeak Maritime has not provided a response to our enquiries.
The Sunday Mail had previously uncovered concerns that Russian oil might inundate Scotland following the potential shutdown of the Grangemouth refinery.
A loophole in sanctions permits diesel and jet fuel to be legally imported into the UK if they are processed in a third country. PetroChina, a state-owned Chinese enterprise that co-owns Grangemouth with tycoon Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos, initiated dealings with Russian crude last year.
Activists are alarmed that converting Grangemouth into an import-only facility could pave the way for Russian oil imports.
Isaac Levi from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air commented: "Due to a gaping legal loophole in the sanctions, the UK is importing refined oil made from Russian crude in non-sanctioning countries."
He added, highlighting the financial implications: "In one year the UK's purchases of this oil sent over £140million in tax revenues, fuelling the Kremlin war chest, equivalent to almost a third of the UK's humanitarian aid to Ukraine."
Levi also questioned the rationale behind certain UK policies and business practices: "If UK policy makers and businesses are arguing that they need to keep buying this oil produced from Russian crude it is not only incorrect but therefore seems a strange decision to allow Scotland's only crude oil refinery to close."
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