A group of 35 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from across the political spectrum sent a letter to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday, voicing serious concerns over the alleged involvement of Greek shipping companies in enabling Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” — a network of tankers circumventing EU sanctions and helping finance the war in Ukraine.
The letter claims that over 600 tankers are currently transporting Russian oil in defiance of Western sanctions, generating billions in revenue for Moscow. Many of these transfers reportedly take place in the Mediterranean, near Greece, using ship-to-ship operations — a practice the MEPs describe as an “environmental time bomb.”
One of the most striking revelations in the letter is that 37% of the 75 tankers sanctioned by the United States in January 2025 were previously owned by Greek shipping interests. The MEPs estimate that Greek companies have profited by approximately $4 billion from the sale of aging vessels that later joined Russia’s sanctions-evading fleet.
The lawmakers are calling on the Greek government to tighten controls over the sale of ships to third countries, prevent further transfers to suspicious entities, and maintain efforts to restrict ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil in Greek waters. They argue that the profits from these operations directly fuel Russia’s war machine, posing a grave threat to both European security and the environment.
“We count on you and your government to encourage Greek companies to stand in solidarity with Ukraine,” the letter concludes.
