Teekay became “collateral damage” when the US imposed sanctions against Chinese owner Cosco, a top company executive has said.

“This one surprised us,” Teekay chief executive Kenneth Hvid told Bloomberg on the sidelines of its investor meetings in New York last week.

In late September six specialised LNG carriers built by Teekay and its Chinese partners for Russia’s Arctic-based Yamal LNG project became entangled in the US sanctions slapped on four Cosco companies.