Report: Greece Blocks EU Sanctions on Yamal LNG to Protect Shipowners
Under pressure from domestic shipping interests, the government of Greece has blocked the latest EU sanctions package on Russian energy exports, according to new reporting from the Financial Times.
The sanctions package under consideration would block imports of LNG from Russia, including the output of Novatek's Yamal LNG in the Arctic northern reaches of Siberia. Yamal ships virtually all of its gas to European customers, taking in about $7 billion for itself (and for Russian federal tax revenue) in the first half of 2026.
At issue is the fleet of specialized icebreaking LNG carriers that serve Yamal LNG, high-value assets that were built specifically for the purpose and are ill-suited to compete in conventional oceangoing trade. When the liquefaction plant was under construction, long before the full-scale invasion, multiple international shipowners entered tenders to order and operate these unique vessels on Novatek's behalf. Many of them belong to Greek owner Dynagas, the LNG division of prominent shipowner George Procopio's energy-shipping empire.
Prokopiou's private shipowning vehicle Dynagas owns five Arc7 LNG carriers that were built for and chartered to Yamal LNG: Boris Vilkitsky, Fedor Litke, Georgiy Brusilov, Boris Davydov and Nikolay Zubov. It also operates four previously-built Arc4 LNG carriers that serve the Yamal project on charter.
Publicly-listed vehicle Dynagas Shipping Partners - 43% owned by Prokopiou - has two more Arc7 LNG carriers on long-term charter to Yamal LNG, the Yenisei River and Lena River. The company has been working to adapt to EU compliance requirements, the company confirmed in its first-quarter results. In 2025, the two Arc7 LNG carrier charters to Yamal accounted for about 35 percent of Dynagas Shipping Partners' revenue, and the firm says that the success of these contracts is essential to its commercial prospects.
"The loss of revenue under either or both of the Yamal Charters would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and ability to make distributions to our unitholders, and could result in an event of default under our debt agreements," Dynagas Shipping Partners cautioned in its full-year 2025 results.
According to the FT, Dynagas' interests are a primary motivator behind Greece's decision to block the sanctions package, with one Greek negotiator warning that the company would be "ruined" by a ban on Yamal LNG's gas.
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Prokopiou is hailed in some shipping circles as a "legend" for bold and successful bets. His oil tanker division, Dynacom, has been a clear leader in braving the risks of the U.S.-Iran conflict for charters to move oil from GCC countries to overseas markets. His willingness to seize opportunity has seen his family's net worth soar to an estimated $4.7 billion as of 2026.
Other prominent international owners with interests in the Yamal fleet include MOL and Stonepeak. Owner Teekay owned six of the project's Arc7 LNG carriers, but sold all of its LNG interests to New York-based Stonepeak in 2021-22 (all of which are now operated by Stonepeak's Seapeak subsidiary).
