🧵 Greek firms made 1600 trips from Russia, on ships with 136 million DWT (35% of total) since #Ukraine invasion started.
A month after EU sanctions intro’d on 5 December, 🇬🇷 ships still dominate #fossilfuel exports. But who are behind these often little-known tanker companies?
TMS Tankers is controlled by billionaire art donor George Economou. He has a gallery named after him at London’s Tate Modern, and is a supporter of many global #art institutions 🖼
His firm conducted 11 voyages on ships with more than 1 million DWT in the month after 5 December.
The Andreas Martinos-led Minerva Marine, meanwhile, embarked on 13 trips from #Russia with 1.2 million DWT ship capacity during the period.
Other high-profile Greek shippers include a trio who also control major media outlets in the country – all highly critical of the invasion.
A firm belonging to Ioannis Alafouzos, owner of the SKAI network, left #Russia on 3 January w/ crude oil bound for Turkey.
In a report for another of his companies, Alafouzos said he was “deeply shocked by the atrocities perpetrated against the innocent people of Ukraine.”
Four days earlier, Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Ship Management left Russia with thousands of tonnes of crude oil for an undeclared destination.
Marinakis owns English #PremierLeague side Nottingham Forest and also controls Greece’s Mega television network 🏟
Avin International, controlled by Vardis Vardinoyannis, who owns two of Greece’s six private TV stations, sent 🇷🇺 oil on ships with 270,000 DWT after 5 December.
🧵 December #sanctions targeting Russian fossil fuels ban #EU vessels, insurers & others from facilitating 🇷🇺 crude #oil trades internationally - unless purchased within a #pricecap set by the west.
The west has “hamstrung its plan’s chances of success”, some analysts say, pointing to the absence of major buyers China, India and Turkey in the price cap. Another flaw is that the price cap – set at $60 per barrel – is above the average price for Russian crude 📈
With exports now price-capped for global buyers 🛢️, traders have to prove purchases are #legal: The system is “unenforceable” and “allows European companies to facilitate a trade that is funding the war in Ukraine,” @Global_Witness say.
🧵 Investigate Europe in 2022: 5 investigations, 20+ media partners, over 100 stories:
✈️ The EU military complex
⚗️ Pesticides and a #biodiversity crisis
🚢 EU ships & Russian oil
🛢️ Inside Europe's little-known #oil giant
🏠 Real estate tax privileges investigate-europe.eu/en/
Europe is on the way to become a military power, but so far mostly to the benefit of arms producers and with little democratic control.
1/ #Breaking Missiles, aircraft, bombs: EU states exported weapons to Russia until at least '20. 🇷🇺 bought arms from 🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇹 & others after the 2014 embargo. € 346 MLN worth of military equipment; some of it possibly used in #Ukraine right now. A thread. investigate-europe.eu/en/2022/eu-sta…
2/ Each year EU Member States are supposed to share their #ArmsExport numbers & policies with #COARM, a working party of @EUCouncil. According to its little known data, ten EU countries exported arms to #Russia in the years 2015-2020, @investigate_eu can report.
3/ This comes after the EU has agreed to stop exporting arms to Russia, following the illegal annexation of #Crimea and Russia-backed proclamation of indepedence by separatists republics in the #Donbass region. Here’s an excerpt of the @EUCouncil’s decision.