Greek shipping companies reportedly earned at least $3.8 billion from transporting Russian oil over the past three years, despite G7 efforts to curb the Kremlin’s energy revenues, according to a Financial Times analysis based on freight costs, tanker movements, and ship management data.
The trade continues to be permitted under Western sanctions rules as long as shipments comply with the G7 price cap on Russian oil. Still, the scale of Greek involvement has drawn renewed attention as the United States and European Union seek tighter restrictions on Moscow’s energy income amid the war in Ukraine.
Greek shipping companies and the Russian oil trade
Dynacom Tankers, founded by Greek shipping billionaire George Prokopiou, generated the highest revenue among Greek companies involved in the Russian oil trade. The company reportedly earned at least $915 million from transporting Russian crude, nearly one quarter of the total revenue attributed to Greek shipowners since July 2023.
The Onassis Group’s Olympic Shipping and Management ranked second among Greek companies with at least $404 million in revenue from the trade. Athens-based tanker operators Stealth Maritime and Polembros Shipping each earned more than $200 million.
Greek companies made up eight of the twenty highest-earning firms from Russian oil shipments since June 2023. Most of the remaining companies were Russian state-backed shipping groups, such as Sovcomflot and Rosnefteflot, or subsidiaries and front companies linked to them. Hong Kong-based ship manager Prominent was the only other exception.
How the G7 price cap allows for the trade
G7 governments introduced the Russian oil price cap in December 2022 to limit Moscow’s revenues while keeping Russian oil on global markets. The goal was to reduce the Kremlin’s war-related income without causing a major energy price shock. Western operators can still transport Russian oil or provide related services but only when the cargo sells at or below the cap which currently stands at $44.10 per barrel.
Enforcement, however, has remained difficult. Shipowners generally need to show that the cargo they carry complies with the cap by producing a printed attestation form. In many cases, shipping companies rely on information from the ship’s charterer or the Russian supplier because they are not usually party to the sale price of the cargo. Shipbrokers familiar with the trade say traders pay about 30 to 40 percent more for tankers carrying Russian crude than for vessels transporting oil from countries not targeted by Western restrictions.
Tensions between Greece and Ukraine
The role of Greek-owned tankers in transporting Russian oil has resulted in tensions between Athens and Kyiv. In 2023, Ukraine’s sanctions body listed several Greek tanker companies, including Dynacom, as “international sponsors of war.” Ukrainian authorities later removed them from the list after pressure from the Greek government. EU diplomats have said the Greek and Cypriot governments repeatedly opposed the price cap during closed-door meetings.
The issue has become more urgent as Western governments consider additional measures against Moscow’s energy revenues. Further restrictions could sharply reduce or even halt Greek participation in the Russian oil trade. Governments have gained confidence from the fact that oil prices have broadly fallen over the past three years. Prices also did not rise as sharply as many had feared during the Iran conflict.
Russia, meanwhile, faces pressure within its own energy system. Ukraine has targeted Russian refining infrastructure with long-range drones, contributing to domestic fuel supply issues.
Analysis covered major Russian oil routes
Revenue estimates were based on freight costs for major Russian oil routes compiled by Argus Media, a pricing agency that began gathering data in June 2023. The analysis combined those freight estimates with ship management data from the International Maritime Organization and tanker movement data from Kpler, a data and analytics company.
The calculations covered 389 million barrels shipped by Greek tanker companies on major routes for which Argus had pricing data. Another 153 million barrels carried by Greek companies were excluded because Argus did not have price estimates for those routes. Data from marine and energy analytics companies Windward and Vortexa showed that Greek companies transported almost 15 percent of Russian crude exports in May.
“There is money to be made there and no one else will go in and make that money,” maritime intelligence analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann said, referring to Greek vessels carrying Russian shipments. Greek shipowners have long been regarded as some of the most risk-tolerant operators in global shipping. Dynacom has also been among the most active shipping companies in the Strait of Hormuz since the Gulf conflict began on February 28.
Some Greek shipping firms pulled back
Several Greek shipping companies have reduced their exposure to Russian oil. TMS Tankers and Thenamaris largely cut their Russian oil activity at the end of 2023 after the United States announced sanctions on maritime operators in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates over allegations that they carried Russian cargoes above the price cap.
TMS Tankers reportedly earned at least $150 million from Russian shipments between July 2023 and the point at which it later stopped. Thenamaris earned at least $30 million. Several Greek tanker companies also reportedly stepped back from the Russian trade after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil in October 2025.
Greek shipping firms defend role in Russian oil trade
Dynacom maintains that all of its calls to Russian ports were “in full compliance with all applicable and prevailing legal and sanctions frameworks.” The company also reported that the price cap framework had reduced Russian revenues while limiting pressure on global energy costs. “Electricity bills, petrol costs and further inflationary pressures have been mitigated due to the contribution of Greek shipping,” Dynacom maintained.
Olympic Shipping asserts it complied “with EU, UK and US sanctions but it is our policy not to comment on individual trades,” while Stealth Maritime stated that all cargoes it transported complied with relevant sanctions and had been checked by US and UK lawyers.
One of Stealth’s tankers, carrying Russian ammonia, was targeted in a suspected Ukrainian attack last year. The incident then prompted the company to raise concerns about the safety of its seafarers.
TMS reported “it is the company’s policy not to comment about commercial matters” but that it was “committed to strict adherence to all applicable sanctions.”
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