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Greek ships remain the dominant force shipping Russian crude, increasing their market share significantly since the December 5 ban on Russian oil exports started, according to new data from freight data firm Vortexa.
Greek and other foreign owners are allowed to transport crude and products out of Russia under an agreed price cap.
When the crude ban and price cap kicked in on 5 December, Russian crude volumes carried by Greek operators decreased significantly, something Vortexa analysts suggest was likely a function of owners being reluctant to operate in this new reality until compliance hurdles were understood.
“Greek operators’ involvement in the trade has been increasing steadily and is beginning to approach pre-ban levels this month,” Vortexa stated in a new report.
The Ukrainian government has been attempting to put pressure on some famous names in Greek shipping who continue to trade with Russia.
George Economou’s TMS Tankers, George Prokopiou’s Dynacom Tankers along with Andreas Martinos’s Minerva Marine, Nikolas Maritnos’s Thenamaris, and Diamantis Diamantidis’s Delta Tankers have been added to the list on the War and Sanctions website created by the Ukrainian government as possible candidates for sanctions as have three high-level individuals from the Liberian Registry.
Launched in April last year the War and Sanctions portal highlights people and corporations who have already been sanctioned since the beginning of war with Russia, as well as suggesting further candidates for sanctions using Refinitiv as a data provider.
According to a white paper published on Monday by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the number of vessels with a wider potential for risk in regard to Russian sanctions is estimated to be 1,900. From these 1,900 ships the majority are Greek-owned.
Since the beginning of 2023, 150+ of these high-risk ships have made a direct port call in Russia and a breakdown of this number highlights a large proportion domiciled in Greece (see chart below).
The other notable Greek connection to the shipment of Russian oil can be seen at a bay in the Peloponnese region.
Ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of Russian oil off the Greek port of Kalamata, jumped 60% on month to 9.37m barrels in February accounting for almost half of all Russian STS crude activity.
