Greece carved out a shipping exemption in the EU's 21st Russia sanctions package this week, and the numbers behind that ...

Greece carved out a shipping exemption in the EU's 21st Russia sanctions package this week, and the numbers behind that move tell a damning story about Europe's energy policy. In the first half of 2026, EU countries absorbed approximately 97% of all exports from Russia's Yamal LNG project. That's 136 out of 140 cargoes, totaling nearly 10 million tonnes, at an estimated cost of €5.96 billion paid to Moscow. France, Belgium, and Spain took the bulk of those shipments. Asia received just four cargoes. Greek officials pushed back on proposed restrictions targeting the shipping of Russian LNG to third countries, arguing the rules would primarily hurt European shipowners, including Greek companies operating specialized ice-class LNG carriers like Dynagas, without actually cutting Russian revenues. Non-EU competitors would simply take the business instead. That argument held, and Brussels backed down. But the exemption lays bare a contradiction that has been building for years. The EU has publicly committed to a full ban on Russian LNG imports starting January 1, 2027, yet import volumes from Yamal actually rose 16% year-on-year in the first half of this year. The pressure is mounting. EU gas storage sat at roughly 54% capacity as of July 21-22, well below the five-year average and more than 10 percentage points behind last year at this point in the summer refill season. Germany is particularly exposed, with storage near 45-46%. The 80% end-of-October target is looking increasingly difficult to meet. Supply alternatives are also tightening. QatarEnergy has extended force majeure on LNG cargoes through at least mid-October following Iranian strikes that damaged capacity at Ras Laffan and knocked out around 17% of Qatar's total LNG output. That disruption, combined with recovering Asian demand, has squeezed the global LNG market and pushed spot prices higher. Greece's position is straightforward from a commercial standpoint: a shipping ban hurts European business while Russian gas keeps flowing anyway. The harder question is whether Europe can actually afford to enforce a real ban by winter 2026/27 without accepting significantly higher energy costs. #EnergyPo...