Against the backdrop of efforts to limit Moscow’s revenues from oil, 36 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from various political groups have sent a letter to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, urging him to halt new sales of Greek-owned vessels to Russian interests. These transactions, they stress, undermine G7 sanctions and strengthen geopolitical and environmental threats in Europe.

In their letter, the MEPs emphasize that the sales of ships owned by Greek interests contribute to maintaining the shadow fleet that Russia uses to bypass the oil price cap, thereby weakening the effectiveness of G7 sanctions. They also reference a study by the Brookings Institution, which found that more than half of the shadow fleet’s ships originate from Western European owners, with Greece identified as “the most frequent seller.”

The MEPs are also calling for tighter controls on ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, a practice often used to obscure the origin of Russian oil. They note that “such irresponsible actions, aimed at economic profit, undermine not only Ukraine’s security but also the security of Europe and Greece.”

The issue is expected to be raised again at the European level, as the EU considers further extending sanctions and adding new shadow fleet vessels to blacklists, in an effort to deprive Moscow of critical revenue.