Greek Navy to continue blocking oil transshipment from Russia until March

The Greek Navy has extended a series of naval exercises aimed at disrupting the transshipment of Russian oil in the Gulf of Laconia for the sixth time.

The exercises have been extended by another four months (until mid-March), although they were supposed to end on November 15, according to a message on the website of the Greek Navy Hydrographic Service.

The Gulf of Laconia has become one of a number of bypasses that traders have used to circumvent EU sanctions against Russia. In May, Greece announced naval exercises in the region, banning commercial vessels from entering.

The government had previously said that the exercises were aimed at stopping cargo shipments that international shipping regulators consider a risk to maritime safety.

As a result, Russian oil transshipment has shifted to new locations, including the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the coast of West Africa.