Greece resists EU push to ban Russian LNG transport as Arctic imports climb
Brussels faces member-state opposition and enforcement gaps even as European buyers accelerate Russian LNG purchases ahead of the 2027 cutoff.
Greece has emerged as one of the main opponents of a proposed EU ban on transporting Russian LNG to third countries, arguing the measure would disproportionately damage Greek shipping interests and strand billions of dollars in specialized vessels, with industry estimates placing each vessel's value at roughly $300 million, according to Greek Reporter.8
Greek shipping companies reportedly made $3.8 billion transporting Russian oil, a figure that gives Athens concrete financial standing to push back against further restrictions on Russian energy trade.8 The opposition comes as European LNG imports from Russia continue rising despite the sanctions architecture Brussels has spent months assembling.
European buyers have been loading Russian LNG at a faster pace ahead of the 2027 full ban deadline. Imports were up 17% for the year as of early June (2026-06-10), an analyst told Montel, with volumes expected to keep rising while long-term contract exemptions keep the trade legal.6 Through May (2026-05-31), European imports of Russian Arctic LNG were up nearly 18%, with Spain the biggest consumer, according to data compiled by Urgewald.7
The EU on Thursday (2026-05-21) adopted a ban on LNG terminal services for Russian companies and prohibited maintenance for Russia's LNG tankers and icebreakers, the European Commission said.2 But the ban came with a carve-out for certain long-term contracts, preserving a legal channel for Russian gas into Europe beyond the spot ban deadline. The EU's prohibition on short-term Russian LNG imports — spot deals lasting less than one year — took effect on Saturday (2026-05-16) under sanctions adopted last October.1
The scale of European dependence on Yamal LNG gives the carve-out immediate practical weight. The EU received 91 cargoes from Novatek's Yamal LNG terminal between January and April (2026-01-01 to 2026-04-30), accounting for 98% of all Yamal exports reaching their final destination in that period, according to Kpler data cited by Urgewald.4 Delivered volumes ran 17.2% higher than the same period last year.5
Enforcement gaps compound the policy ambiguity. A Danish shipyard remains the single EU facility that services LNG carriers from the Yamal terminal, the Financial Times reported, citing a local NGO.5 The new sanctions ban maintenance on Russia's LNG fleet, but the Danish facility sits inside the EU — a gap the current measures do not immediately close.
Patchy enforcement extends beyond European ports. The Clean Ocean LNG tanker, sanctioned by the UK and linked to Russia's Arctic gas trade, stopped at a port in northern Norway in May (2026-05-26) — the first appearance of a UK-sanctioned LNG vessel in those waters, according to OilPrice.com.4 Russian gas was moving through allied territory even with Western restrictions nominally in place.
Pressure for a pause on further restrictions has come from the industry side as well. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said the EU should suspend its planned ban on Russian LNG, citing repercussions from the Iran war that has caused a global energy shock, Montel reported in April (2026-04-13).3 ICE Endex TTF front-month gas was trading at €61.90/MWh on Thursday (2026-07-24), a level shaped in part by supply uncertainty across multiple fronts.
The immediate question for traders is whether Brussels tightens the long-term contract exemptions in a future sanctions round, or whether Greek shipping opposition succeeds in blocking the proposed third-country transport ban altogether. With Arctic LNG volumes still rising and the Danish servicing facility still operational, the 2027 full ban is the stated endpoint, but the route there runs through a series of unresolved carve-outs.6,5