South Korean Fuel Reaches Russia’s Far East
Reuters recently reported that at the end of July traders unloaded approximately 30,000 metric tonnes of petroleum products from South Korea into Russia.
According to vessel-tracking systems Kpler and Vortexa, two voyages were carried out by the Russian-flagged tanker Aram Khachaturian, IMO number 9163752. The vessel transported aviation and diesel fuel loaded from storage facilities at the container port of Ulsan and delivered the cargo to Nakhodka and Vladivostok.
The Korean owner of the petroleum products has not been identified. It is considered highly likely that the shipment was handled through the terminal operated by Jeongil Stolthaven Ulsan Co., Ltd.
Against the backdrop of Russia’s current energy crisis, this shipment became the first such delivery from a country in the region since February 2022, when a cargo of aviation fuel was delivered to Russia from the South Korean port of Yeosu.
In July this year, Russia also attempted to purchase another 200,000 tonnes of fuel of Japanese origin, once again through Korean traders. Those deliveries, however, did not take place, while the Japanese authorities stated that relevant restrictions were in force.
At the same time, it is noteworthy that in early August the same Aram Khachaturian made a voyage from Vladivostok to Tokyo for an unknown purpose. South Korean authorities did not comment on the July fuel shipment.
Who Controls the Aram Khachaturian
The Chinese-built tanker, formerly known as Maria Desgagnes, belongs to Kamchatskaya Neftebaza LLC of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The company generates annual profits amounting to hundreds of millions of roubles and is controlled by local businessman Karen Arushanyan.
Arushanyan’s business network also includes the Kamchatka companies Brams-Oil, Brams-Bunker and TB-Prichal, which are involved in vessel bunkering and fuel trading.
TB-Prichal is also co-owned by Vasiliy Chernovsky and, through the company Kolymaneftprodukt, by Fedosya Sukhankina.
Chernovsky also controls the Kamchatka companies Morskoy Standart and Morskoy Trust, which are connected with fuel trading and shipping.
Magadan resident Fedosya Sukhankina, who is listed among the thirty wealthiest women in Russia, is the widow of Mikhail Sukhankin, a former regional fuel magnate.
The Sukhankin Business Clan
The Sukhankin clan controls a wide range of businesses in the Magadan Region, from oil depots to hotels and pharmacies.
Fedosya Sukhankina serves as a deputy in the Magadan City Duma, while her son Vitaliy is a deputy in the regional Duma. Both represent the ruling United Russia party.
Their Kamchatka business partner Arushanyan presents himself as an “active member of the Armenian diaspora of Kamchatka”, while part of his business assets are registered in the name of his wife, Sona Arushanyan.
A Three-Tanker Fleet
The fleet controlled by Kamchatskaya Neftebaza consists of three tankers.
In addition to the aforementioned Aram Khachaturian, it includes the Russian-flagged Arno Babajanyan, IMO number 9163764, a Chinese-built tanker with a deadweight of 14,000 tonnes, formerly known as Lama.
The third vessel is the smaller Russian-flagged tanker Brams, IMO number 8910794, built in Japan and formerly named San Oh Maru.
The renaming of the tanker in honour of Armenian composer Arno Babajanyan in 2020 was turned by the Russian side into a propaganda event in Vladivostok. It was attended by Armenia’s then-ambassador to Russia, Vardan Toghanyan, local officials and “representatives of the diaspora”.
It should also be noted that South Korea does not have an Armenian diaspora or corresponding Armenian lobbying network comparable to those found elsewhere. Therefore, the current fuel transactions involving Kamchatskaya Neftebazawere most likely organised through other channels.
Sanctions Against Arno Babajanyan
It is particularly notable that in 2025 the Arno Babajanyan was placed under sanctions by the European Union, Switzerland, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ukraine for violating restrictions connected with the trade in Russian oil.
The vessel is used to transport petroleum products from China to Russian ports in the Far East and also participates in Russia’s northern supply operations, delivering fuel to the Chukotka ports of Pevek and Egvekinot.
At the same time, another Kamchatka company, Morskoy Standart-Bunker, is listed as the shipowner of the Arno Babajanyan and, according to some sources, also of the Aram Khachaturian.
The company is controlled through the aforementioned structures Morskoy Standart and Morskoy Trust, as well as S.V. Kompleks, by the same Vasiliy Chernovsky.
A Leasing Company With Hidden Beneficiaries
Despite the actual operation of the Arno Babajanyan by structures associated with Arushanyan and Chernovsky, its formally declared owner is the Khabarovsk-based Universal Leasing Company.
The company has formal registration in Moscow, a branch in China and undisclosed beneficiaries.
At the same time, even some Russian sources indicate that Universal Leasing Company is controlled through the intermediary structure Region Kapital by Khabarovsk regional magnate Vadim Gubkin.
Gubkin controls a broad network of businesses throughout Russia’s Far East, ranging from hotels and restaurants in Khabarovsk and Vladivostok to gold mining, private security, leasing of construction equipment and container terminals on the Chinese border.
Vadim Gubkin’s Crimean Connection
It has also been reported that after 2022 Gubkin “actively began trying his hand in Crimea”, while his son Ilya Gubkin lives in Vancouver, Canada, and other relatives reside in Latvia.
Gubkin’s Crimean connections are concealed relatively carefully, but they can be traced through Russian corporate registers, in particular through the activities of the Moscow-based “specialised developer” Barkhat and NRK LLC.
Gubkin previously served as general director of Barkhat, after which the position was taken over by Andrey Mazunin.
At the same time, Gubkin remains a co-owner of the company together with NRK LLC, which serves as a financial umbrella for numerous Russian property developers, including companies operating in the Far East.
It is noteworthy that in 2025 NRK sued Gubkin and other co-owners in Moscow over ownership stakes in the company’s capital.
However, Gubkin won the dispute by using “Vladivostok jurisdiction”. The proceedings bore signs of being used as cover for a redistribution of stakes in NRK among its beneficiaries.
Links to Russia’s PIK Group
In turn, NRK is connected to the Russian PIK Group, which has been included by the Russian government on its list of “systemically important enterprises”, while activities by the group in Crimea have also been reported.
The involvement of Gubkin’s business empire in sanctioned petroleum-product transportation and in commercial activity on the occupied peninsula therefore warrants further investigation.
South Korea’s More Limited Sanctions Policy
It should also be noted that South Korea, despite its government’s declared support for Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale aggression, has since 2022 imposed sanctions on Russia on a significantly smaller scale than the European Union or the United States.
Experts have previously pointed to active operations in South Korea by Russian businesses controlled by the Kremlin.
Among other things, attention has been drawn to the active presence in the country of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS), which has been described as an active umbrella structure for subversive activities by Russian intelligence services.
There have also been reports of recent Russian attempts to purchase groups of LNG carriers in South Korea for use in Arctic projects associated with Novatek.
Russian Maritime Register Activity in Busan
For example, in June representatives of the RMRS office located in Busan participated in events organised by Seoul’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries concerning “cruise ship safety”.
During those activities, they attempted to establish “special contacts” with the Korea Coast Guard, including in relation to the “exchange of information, drawings and the conduct of joint exercises”.
Among other things, RMRS has cited its supervisory role over one of the largest cruise liners, Eastern Venus, IMO number 9160011, sailing under the Panamanian flag.
The vessel is owned by the South Korean company Duwon Shipping Co Ltd and operated by the Busan-based company Sungan Shipping Co Ltd.
Questions for Seoul Over Fuel Supplies to Russia
The current approach of the authorities in Seoul, which declined to comment on fuel supplies intended for Russia’s Far East, where a significant share of those resources may be used to support Russian military forces, can hardly be regarded as either far-sighted or friendly towards Ukraine and its strategic partners.
This raises the question of including not only Vadim Gubkin, Karen Arushanyan and enterprises controlled by them on sanctions lists, but also their Korean counterparties.
The Tangier–Murmansk Shipment
The need for an appropriate response to attempts to circumvent sanctions is further demonstrated by another negative example.
In July, approximately 30,000 tonnes of AI-92 petrol were delivered to Murmansk from the Moroccan port of Tangier.
According to Reuters, the purchase and logistics of that shipment were organised by Russia’s Lukoil.
