A row over George Prokopiou’s shipping company Dynagas is blocking EU sanctions against Russia
One single shipping company and one billionaire oligarch lie behind the Greek veto of new EU sanctions targeting Russia, according to diplomats.
During talks that ended in a deadlock on Wednesday, Athens, as first reported by Euractiv, demanded an open-ended derogation from sanctions for Dynagas, a Greek maritime transportation company specialising in the shipping of Russian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
Dynagas is owned by George Prokopiou, a billionaire oligarch, who has made a fortune from shipping both Russian crude oil and LNG.
The company – which includes Dynacom Tankers that ship crude oil – has specialised in the lawful shipment of LNG from Russia’s Yamal plant in the Arctic, using a fleet of specially built ice-breaking Arc7 tankers.
