{"text":[[{"start":10.75,"text":"Greek shipping companies have made at least $3.8bn transporting Russian oil over the past three years even as G7 nations sought to curb the Kremlin’s oil revenues."}],[{"start":22.8,"text":"The company that made the most from the trade was Dynacom Tankers, founded by Greek shipping billionaire George Prokopiou. Dynacom made at least $915mn in revenues shipping Russian crude since July 2023, according to FT calculations."}],[{"start":37.85,"text":"The Onassis Group’s Olympic Shipping and Management made at least $404mn off the trade while Stealth Maritime and Polembros Shipping, both Athens-based tanker companies, have made more than $200mn."}],[{"start":52,"text":"The role of Greek shipowners in moving Russian oil has been a source of tension between Athens and Kyiv. Several Greek tanker companies, including Dynacom, were listed by the Ukrainian sanctions body in 2023 as being “international sponsors of war” but were later removed following pressure from the Greek government."}],[{"start":72.15,"text":"The oil trade is permitted as long as it falls within the rules of the G7 price cap. Yet the pressure to tighten sanctions regimes has stepped up in recent months as the US and EU try to weaken Moscow’s hand ahead of a potential peace deal with Ukraine. "}],[{"start":88.35000000000001,"text":"Governments are seeking further restrictions on Moscow’s energy revenues, which could halt the Greek trade. They have been emboldened by the fact oil prices have broadly fallen over the past three years and did not rise as much as first feared during the Iran conflict."}],[{"start":104.60000000000001,"text":"The FT analysis used estimated freight costs for major Russian routes gathered by Argus Media, a pricing agency, which they began to collect in June 2023. The FT then used ship management data from the International Maritime Organization and tanker movement data from Kpler, a data and analytics company, to build the analysis. "}],[{"start":126,"text":"The FT’s calculations cover only major routes for which Argus has pricing data. This means that the price estimate relates only to 389mn barrels shipped by Greek tanker companies. A further 153mn barrels do not have a price estimate from Argus and were excluded from the FT’s calculations."}],[{"start":144.8,"text":"Of the top 20 companies that have made the most from Russian shipments since June 2023, eight are Greek. The others are all Russian state-backed shipping companies such as Sovcomflot and Rosnefteflot or subsidiaries or front companies associated with them, with the exception of Hong Kong-based ship manager Prominent. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":164.10000000000002,"text":"Greek shipowners are renowned as among the most risk-tolerant in the industry. Dynacom has been among the most active shipping companies in the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the Gulf conflict on February 28."}],[{"start":177.35000000000002,"text":"Almost 15 per cent of Russian crude exports were shipped by Greek companies in May, according to analysis of data from marine and energy analytics companies Windward and Vortexa."}],[{"start":189.00000000000003,"text":"“There is money to be made there and no one else will go in and make that money,” said maritime intelligence analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann, referring to Greek vessels carrying Russian shipments."}],[{"start":200.20000000000002,"text":"Traders pay about 30 to 40 per cent more for tankers to carry Russian crude compared with oil from countries not targeted by western measures, according to shipbrokers with knowledge of the trade. "}],[{"start":211.25000000000003,"text":"The G7 Russian oil price cap was introduced in December 2022 to limit Moscow’s revenues while also keeping oil flowing so as not to hurt the global economy."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":221.55000000000004,"text":"Western operators have been allowed to provide transport or services for Russian oil since then, but only at a price at or below the G7 cap. Today the cap stands at $44.10 per barrel. But policing of the cap has been patchy at best, according to former sanctions officials and lawyers."}],[{"start":239.90000000000003,"text":"Shipowners are required to show that the cargo they are carrying is priced under the cap by producing a printed attestation form. "}],[{"start":247.05000000000004,"text":"Shipping companies often rely on the word of either the ship’s charterer or the Russian supplier, said Stefanos Roulakis, a lawyer for Greek shipping companies. "}],[{"start":255.50000000000003,"text":"“In theory, this works,” Roulakis said. “But in practice we have seen that authorities expect shipowners to evaluate whether the expected price is below the cap and whether a sanctioned party is involved in the supply chain.”"}],[{"start":267.90000000000003,"text":"In closed-door meetings, the Greek and Cypriot governments consistently opposed the price cap, EU diplomats said."}],[{"start":275.70000000000005,"text":"Some Greek tanker companies have nevertheless backed away from the trade. TMS Tankers and Thenamaris largely cut their trade in Russian oil at the end of 2023 after the US announced sanctions on Turkish and United Arab Emirates maritime operators for allegedly carrying Russian cargoes above the price cap."}],[{"start":294.50000000000006,"text":"Thenamaris earned at least $30mn in revenues from Russian shipments, while TMS Tankers earned at least $150mn in revenues between July 2023 and stopping later that year, according to the FT’s calculations."}],[{"start":308.15000000000003,"text":"Several Greek shipping companies also backed away from the Russian trade following the US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil in October 2025, lawyers and analysts said."}],[{"start":318.8,"text":"Dynacom said that all its calls to Russian ports were “in full compliance with all applicable and prevailing legal and sanctions frameworks” and that the price cap framework had both reduced Russian revenues and “limited pressure on global energy costs”."}],[{"start":334.6,"text":"“Electricity bills, petrol costs and further inflationary pressures have been mitigated due to the contribution of Greek shipping,” it added. "}],[{"start":343.5,"text":"Olympic Shipping said that it complied “with EU, UK and US sanctions but it is our policy not to comment on individual trades”. "}],[{"start":352.45,"text":"Stealth said that all of the cargoes it carried complied with the relevant sanctions regimes and had been checked by US and UK lawyers."}],[{"start":360.65,"text":"One of its tankers, carrying a cargo of Russian ammonia, was targeted in a suspected Ukrainian attack last year, leading the company to raise concerns for the safety of its seafarers."}],[{"start":372.2,"text":"TMS said “it is the company’s policy not to comment about commercial matters” but that it was “committed to strict adherence to all applicable sanctions”."}],[{"start":380.65,"text":"Polembros and Thenamaris did not respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":386.2,"text":"“Russian oil continues to generate billions for the Kremlin because governments have failed to close obvious gaps in the system,” said Svitlana Romanko, director of the Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand, which seeks to end the trade of Russian oil and gas. "}],[{"start":402.65,"text":"“The Greek government has repeatedly chosen the interests of its shipping industry above stronger sanctions and peace.”"}],[{"start":410.29999999999995,"text":"Additional reporting by Jamie John"}],[{"start":421.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783422035_6667.mp3"}