The Financial Times revealed that Greece opposed the latest European sanctions package against Russia because it included restrictions on entities transporting Russian liquefied gas.
The newspaper, citing informed sources, reported that Greek efforts in this context are focused on protecting the shipping company Dynagas, owned by Greek shipping magnate Georgios Prokopio. Greece's permanent representative to the European Union told his counterparts on Wednesday that sanctions would destroy Dynagas if imposed.
Data from the maritime information platform "Equisys" indicates that "Dinagas" operates a fleet of 27 gas carriers, including Arc7-type carriers, which were specifically designed to meet the strict safety standards for working in the icy waters of the Arctic region, near the "Yamal" liquefied natural gas plant.
Georgios Prokopio is one of Greece's leading shipping magnates, owning several major shipping companies, including Dynacom, Dynagas Holding, and Sea Traders, in addition to a 43% stake in the publicly traded Dynagas LNG Partnership. Forbes estimates his and his family's net worth at approximately $4.7 billion.
It is worth noting that the draft of the new sanctions package includes a mechanism to lower the price ceiling imposed on Russian oil, which is the level that companies are not allowed to exceed when buying or transporting oil derivatives, otherwise they will be subject to secondary sanctions.
Moscow had issued a presidential decree prohibiting the supply of crude oil and petroleum products to entities and parties that apply a price ceiling system, considering this a violation of the sovereignty of the Russian oil market.
