Greece vetoes EU 21st Russia sanctions package over worldwide Russian LNG shipping ban hitting Dynagas Arctic fleet
The EU's next Russia sanctions round is stuck on nine ice-class tankers. Greece vetoed the 21st package because a worldwide ban on shipping Russian LNG would strand Dynagas' Arctic fleet serving Yamal, the Financial Times reports. Unanimity gives a single fleet veto power over EU
The European Union's entire 21st sanctions package against Russia is on hold, and the reason is nine highly specialized tankers. Greece has vetoed the package in Brussels, the Financial Times reports, because one of its proposed measures - a worldwide ban on EU companies transporting Russian LNG - would hit Greek shipping company Dynagas. Dynagas operates five Arc7 icebreaking LNG carriers and four Arc4 vessels that serve Russia's Yamal LNG project in the Arctic. The ships were purpose-built for year-round operations through thick sea ice, which makes them commercially unattractive on normal routes. Maritime data cited by gCaptain shows the fleet has moved more than 10 million tonnes of Russian LNG since the beginning of 2025. Athens argues the ban would ruin the company and force it to sell the vessels, each worth roughly 300 million dollars, to non-Western buyers. Because EU sanctions require unanimity, the veto freezes everything else in the package: new designations against Russian banks, measures on cryptocurrency networks and military-industrial companies, and changes to the G7 oil price cap. Ambassadors extended the current cap of 44.10 dollars per barrel as a temporary fix. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc will work on a Plan B if no agreement is reached. The episode shows how a single member state's commercial exposure can set the pace of European sanctions policy.