Letter to Mitsotakis from 36 MEPs: measures demanded to stop Greek-owned vessels sailing in the Russian shadow fleet

A cross-party group of 36 MEPs from various countries sent a joint letter last Friday to the office of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, asking him to “take all necessary measures to prevent any further sale of Greek-owned vessels” to Russia. The MEPs warn that these transactions help the Kremlin

The MEPs are also calling for additional measures to restrict ship-to-ship transfers, a practice used to hide the origin of goods, and to discourage Greek companies from transporting Russian oil.

“These actions are critical not only to curtail Russia’s financial means to continue its war against Ukraine, but also to prevent environmental and security threats, to which your country as a maritime nation has already been directly exposed,” the MEPs write.

They cite a recent study by the US think tank Brookings, according to which more than half of the ships in Russia’s shadow fleet came from Western European owners, with Greece being by far “the single biggest supplier.” They note that “Greek shipowners have made around $4 billion from the sale of ageing ships that ended up in Russia’s shadow fleet.”

The findings are in line with a previous study by the European Parliament’s research service, euronews reports. “Such irresponsible actions, aimed at financial gain, not only directly contribute to the suffering of the Ukrainian people, but also undermine European and Greek security, including causing environmental hazards,” said Petras Auštrevičius, the Lithuanian liberal MP who promoted the joint letter.

To date, the EU has blacklisted 153 ships from the Russian shadow fleet, forbidding them access to European ports and services. Despite the wide range of sanctions, the EU has not imposed a direct ban on the sale or transfer of ownership of tankers to Russia. Instead, EU companies and individuals are required to notify the competent national authorities of such transactions and await their approval.

The MEPs are calling on the Greek government to take all necessary measure to prevent any further sales of Greek-owned vessels to third countries, to prevent further transfers to suspicious entities, and to continue its efforts to limit ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil in Greek waters. They stress that these revenues strengthen Russia’s war machine and thus threaten European security and the environment.

The signatories bring their letter to a close by saying “We are counting on you and your Government to encourage Greek companies to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office did not react to the letter immediately. A spokesman said: “The Greek authorities are doing their utmost to ensure compliance with the sanctions and to prevent any circumvention of the sanctions within their territory.”

Greece, a coastal nation with a strong maritime sector, is under scrutiny for the role it has traditionally played in the Russian fossil fuel trade. Although this activity has decreased significantly following the imposition of EU sanctions, it has not stopped entirely.

The so-called “shadow fleet” refers to the ships the Kremlin uses to circumvent the price cap on Russian oil imposed by the Western allies to limit the funds available to finance a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. International oil and gas sales are Moscow’s most important sources of revenue.

The fleet consists of old, uninsured tankers that engage in deceptive practices such as transmitting falsified data, disabling transponders to make themselves invisible, and making multiple ship-to-ship transfers to conceal the origin of the barrels of oil they carry. Such measures allow ships to evade monitoring, and thus the price cap.

Political pressure to crack down on the fleet has increased over time following a series of incidents in the Baltic Sea, where Russian-operated vessels have been accused of sabotaging underwater cables.

In its various sanctions packages, the EU has now blacklisted 153 ships belonging to the shadow fleet. All 153 are banned from accessing EU ports and EU services.