Two Kord heavy machine guns, caliber 12.7 mm, have been installed on the Russian gas carrier Marshal Vasilevsky, which belongs to Gazprom and is based off the coast of the Kaliningrad region. The weapons are mounted on the wheelhouse, one on each side, with sandbags placed nearby to protect the firing positions.
Photographs of the vessel were taken in mid-May by the Estonian border service during a flight over the Baltic Sea. The images were passed to the Estonian publication Delfi, which shared them with a consortium of journalists that includes the Dossier Center (designated as a “foreign agent” in Russia), the British newspaper the Times, German broadcasters WDR and NDR, the Dutch outlet Follow the Money, and others.
According to the Dossier Center, this is the only known instance of a Russian civilian vessel being equipped with weapons.
In addition, the Dossier Center obtained access to the crew and passenger lists of the gas carrier from January 2023. Until August 2025, there were no passengers on board, but then passengers appeared — 8 to 12 people per voyage, totaling 50 people. At least 24 of them, the publication writes, served or are serving in law enforcement agencies (the Federal Security Service (FSB), the National Guard (Rosgvardia), and the army).
The Marshal Vasilevsky is not just a gas carrier but Russia's only floating regasification unit: the vessel can convert liquefied natural gas into a gaseous state and deliver it to consumers. It was put into operation in early 2019. At the same time, a marine terminal was opened for it in the Baltic Sea. President Vladimir Putin stated that the terminal, if necessary, “fully covers all the needs of the Kaliningrad region for gas without using gas pipelines through the territory of neighboring states.”
The main route for supplying the Kaliningrad region with gas, however, remains a pipeline passing through Vilnius and Kaunas. At the end of 2025, Lithuania signed a new contract for the transit of Russian gas — until December 31, 2030.
Experts and analysts interviewed by the journalistic consortium say the machine guns are unlikely to provide adequate protection against drone attacks. However, their presence on board would make detaining the vessel more problematic.
Pavel Aksenov, a military observer for the BBC Russian Service, explains that merchant ships generally do not carry weapons, but this rule is not clearly enshrined in international law. On the high seas, the laws of the flag state apply — the Marshal Vasilevsky sails under the Russian flag. When passing through territorial waters, the laws of the coastal state apply. The vessel travels between the Bolshoy Bor terminal in the Gulf of Finland and the Kaliningrad region, using an international shipping corridor. Formally, the machine guns on the superstructure do not violate international law.
The weapons likely appeared for protection or deterrence in case the vessel is attempted to be arrested, the BBC writes. In mid-June, Britain arrested a tanker from Russia's shadow fleet in the English Channel — marines landed on the vessel from a helicopter with support from the Royal Air Force.
A source in one of the Baltic intelligence services told journalists that this is “50% a signal to the West”: “We don't plan to board this ship anyway. But if rumors spread that there are heavy machine guns on board a 'shadow fleet' vessel, the risk assessment for boarding for Western countries will be completely different.”
Gazprom did not respond to questions about the machine guns.
The only Russian gas carrier that has been attacked at sea remains the Arctic Metagaz. In early March, a fire broke out on board, reportedly caused by a marine drone attack. The crew was evacuated, and the vessel, with a hole in its hull, was left drifting. Vladimir Putin called the attack a “terrorist attack.” French outlet RFI, citing sources, reported that Ukrainian military personnel based in Libya were behind the attack.