Greece warns of oil spill risks due to shadow fleet activities

Russian vessels circumventing EU sanctions have shifted their oil transshipment operations from the Laconian Gulf to the northern Aegean Sea.

This is the area between the islands of Chios, Lesbos, Samothrace and Lemnos, reports the Greek newspaper Thema.

According to sources, after Greece restricted Russian activity in the Laconian Gulf using naval exercises, the “shadow fleet” vessels began transshipment operations further north on the high seas. These are ship-to-ship (STS) operations, when oil is transferred from tanker to tanker without calling at a port.

Such transshipments allow Russia to continue exporting oil despite EU sanctions that limit the price of Russian oil (from July 2025 to $47.6 per barrel). It is estimated that about 1 million barrels of oil products are transshipped in this area every month.

Greek officials acknowledge that intervention in such operations is limited, as they take place in international waters. At the same time, experts warn of high risks – due to strong winds in this region (up to 8 points on the Beaufort scale), oil spills are possible, which could cause significant damage to the ecosystems of the Aegean Sea.

Earlier, USM reported that tankers of the Russian “shadow fleet” continue to spill oil in the seas of Europe.