Berlin, August 18, 2026
Toplines
- Dynagas-linked vessels carried 57 cargoes and 4.14 million tonnes from Russia's Yamal LNG project between January and July 2026, accounting for 35 per cent of all project volumes.
- Of these shipments, 53 cargoes and 3.86 million tonnes were delivered to EU ports. Their indicative gross value was €2.35 billion.
- In July alone, Dynagas-linked vessels delivered six cargoes and 413,924 tonnes to EU ports, with an indicative gross value of €306 million.
- Across all destinations in July, Dynagas-linked vessels carried eight of Yamal's 22 cargoes, totalling 557,302 tonnes.
- EU countries paid an estimated €6.64 billion for 10.89 million tonnes of Yamal LNG between January and July, including around €681 million in July.
- Dynagas volumes rose by 5.0 per cent from the same period in 2025, while total Yamal LNG volumes were broadly flat.
- Four lower ice-class LNG tankers linked to Dynagas also loaded at Yamal between 16 and 24 July. Three are sanctioned by the UK.
- Greece delayed agreement on the EU's 21st sanctions package until an exemption was agreed for qualifying Russian LNG transport under contracts concluded before 24 February 2022.
Dynagas-linked vessels delivered €2.35 billion of LNG to EU ports
New analysis of Kpler data by Urgewald shows that vessels attributed to Greek shipowner Dynagas carried 57 Yamal LNG cargoes in the first seven months of 2026, totalling 4.14 million tonnes. That was 35 per cent of the project's recorded export volume.
Of those shipments, 53 cargoes and 3.86 million tonnes were delivered to EU ports. Applying Urgewald's monthly TTF benchmark methodology gives these EU-bound cargoes an indicative gross value of €2.35 billion.
Dynagas's role grew even though total Yamal LNG output barely changed. In the first seven months of 2025, Dynagas-linked vessels carried 54 cargoes and 3.94 million tonnes, or 33.4 per cent of the total. In 2026, the cargo count rose to 57 and tonnage increased by 5.0 per cent.
The figures place Dynagas at the centre of the logistics chain serving Russia's largest LNG export project. Five of the 14 specialised Arc7 vessels recorded serving Yamal in the 2026 dataset are linked to Dynagas. These vessels are designed for Arctic operations and are essential to maintaining year-round exports during the winter ice season.
Greece fought for an exemption
The data comes weeks after Greece held up the EU's 21st sanctions package while seeking protection for European companies transporting Russian LNG to buyers outside the EU. The Financial Times reported on 15 July that Athens was blocking the package to shield Dynagas, controlled by Greek billionaire George Prokopiou. Reuters later described Greece as the main obstacle to agreement.
The final regulation created an exemption allowing qualifying EU operators to continue transferring Russian LNG to third countries under long-term contracts concluded before 24 February 2022. The contracts must meet the regulation's conditions, including restrictions on amendments made after that date. Annual volumes are capped at the relevant operator's 2025 level.
The exemption initially runs until 25 July 2027 and renews for successive one-year periods unless the Council decides otherwise following an annual review.
The legal exemption is available to any EU operator that meets its conditions and does not name Dynagas. Reporting throughout the negotiations, however, identified the company's Yamal business as the focus of Greece's intervention. Dynagas entered its five-vessel Arc7 arrangement for Yamal in 2015, before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Sebastian Rötters, Sanctions Campaigner at Urgewald, said:
"One Greek shipping company carried more than a third of Yamal LNG in the first seven months of 2026. Dynagas-linked vessels transported 57 of the project's 162 cargoes.
"Scandalously, Greece secured an exemption in the EU sanctions negotiations that could benefit billionaire George Prokopiou's Dynagas and its ongoing business with Yamal LNG. The EU has weakened one of its strongest levers over Russia's Arctic LNG trade."
Dynagas-linked vessels delivered LNG worth €306 million to the EU in July
Dynagas-linked vessels carried eight of the 22 Yamal cargoes delivered worldwide in July, totalling 557,302 tonnes. That was 35.5 per cent of all Yamal LNG delivered during the month.
Six of these Dynagas-linked cargoes were delivered to EU ports, totalling 413,924 tonnes. Applying Urgewald's July TTF benchmark gives these EU-bound cargoes an indicative gross value of €306 million. The remaining two cargoes were delivered to China and Taiwan.
Kpler data also shows that all four of Dynagas's lower ice-class LNG tankers loaded at Yamal between 16 and 24 July: Clean Planet, Clean Vision, Clean Ocean and Clean Horizon. Clean Planet was the first non-Arc7 LNG tanker to leave Yamal during the summer navigation window.
Clean Planet, Clean Vision and Clean Ocean were designated by the UK in October 2025 for transporting Russian LNG. Clean Horizon is not currently included on the UK sanctions list.
These Arc4 vessels cannot replace the specialised Arc7 fleet during the most difficult winter conditions. Their return to Yamal during the summer nevertheless shows that Dynagas's role extends beyond its five core Arc7 tankers.
Europe still dominates Yamal's export chain
Across the first seven months of 2026, Yamal LNG delivered 162 cargoes and 11.83 million tonnes worldwide. EU ports received 149 cargoes and 10.89 million tonnes, 92.1 per cent of the total. The EU received a Yamal cargo roughly every 1.4 days.
Urgewald estimates that EU countries paid €6.64 billion for these deliveries. This includes the previously published €5.96 billion estimate for January to June and around €681 million for the 920,725 tonnes delivered in July.
EU-bound volumes rose by 13.9 per cent from the same period in 2025, when the bloc received 131 cargoes and 9.56 million tonnes. Deliveries to Asia fell from 31 cargoes and 2.23 million tonnes to 13 cargoes and 933,215 tonnes, a decline of 58.2 per cent by volume.
Nine Asia-bound deliveries were recorded in July as the Northern Sea Route's summer window opened. The seven-month picture remains dominated by Europe, and the longer seasonal route to Asia does not remove Yamal's winter dependence on the Arc7 fleet.
First seven months of 2026 at a glance
- 162 Yamal LNG cargoes and 11.83 million tonnes delivered worldwide.
- 149 cargoes and 10.89 million tonnes delivered to EU ports, 92.1 per cent of the total, worth an estimated €6.64 billion.
- 57 Dynagas-linked cargoes and 4.14 million tonnes worldwide.
- 53 Dynagas-linked cargoes and 3.86 million tonnes delivered to EU ports, with an indicative gross value of €2.35 billion.
- Dynagas-linked volume increased by 5.0 per cent compared with January to July 2025.
- EU-bound volume increased by 13.9 per cent; Asia-bound volume fell by 58.2 per cent.
July 2026 Yamal LNG at a glance
- 22 Yamal LNG cargoes and 1.57 million tonnes delivered worldwide.
- 13 cargoes and 920,725 tonnes delivered to EU ports, 58.6 per cent of the total, worth an estimated €681 million.
- Eight Dynagas-linked cargoes and 557,302 tonnes delivered worldwide, 35.5 per cent of the total.
- Six Dynagas-linked cargoes and 413,924 tonnes delivered to EU ports, with an indicative gross value of €306 million.
- Nine cargoes and 650,967 tonnes delivered to Asia, 41.4 per cent of the total.
ENDS
Notes to editors
All underlying data is available to journalists on request.
Data and methodology
The analysis is based on cargo-level Kpler data tracking LNG shipments from the Yamal LNG project. Destinations are assigned using the final recorded discharge port. Volumes are reported in tonnes, as supplied by Kpler. The full underlying dataset can be shared with journalists on request but should not be published without Urgewald's permission.
January to July delivery totals are based on final destination dates through 31 July 2026. The separate observation concerning the four Clean vessels uses origin and departure dates from Yamal between 16 and 24 July. References to Dynagas-linked vessels follow the vessel-owner attribution used in the working dataset.
Estimated payments refer only to Yamal LNG volumes delivered to the EU. The estimates are indicative and use benchmark prices because contract-level prices are not publicly available.
The January to June TTF front-month prices follow Urgewald's published six-month analysis, based on the simple average of daily closing prices from Investing.com's Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures historical data. The July input is the €53.99/MWh ICE front-month monthly average reported by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting.
The assumptions are: January €35.00/MWh; February €35.00/MWh; March €52.87/MWh; April €45.21/MWh; May €47.32/MWh; June €44.94/MWh; and July €53.99/MWh.
Volumes are converted using 13.7 MWh per tonne of LNG. The calculation is: monthly EU-delivered tonnes multiplied by 13.7 MWh per tonne, multiplied by the monthly TTF benchmark.
This produces an estimated €681 million for the 920,725 tonnes delivered to EU ports in July and €6.64 billion for EU deliveries between January and July.
The same method applied to 53 Dynagas-linked cargoes and 3,860,802 tonnes delivered to EU ports between January and July gives an indicative gross cargo value of €2.35 billion. Applied to the six Dynagas-linked cargoes and 413,924 tonnes delivered to EU ports in July, it gives an indicative gross cargo value of €306 million.
These figures estimate the gross value of the LNG carried by Dynagas-linked vessels. They are not estimates of Dynagas's freight income, corporate revenue or profit.
The estimates exclude long-term contract discounts, transport costs, regasification fees and intra-EU resale dynamics. They should be understood as indicative gross payments under prevailing market conditions, rather than precise transaction values.
The cargo-level Kpler dataset records 57 Dynagas-linked cargoes and 4,139,433 tonnes delivered worldwide between January and July 2026. Figures in the release are rounded to 4.14 million tonnes.
Legal scope of the EU exemption
Council Regulation (EU) 2026/1848 provides an exemption for qualifying transfers of Russian LNG to third countries under long-term contracts concluded before 24 February 2022. The contracts and any subsequent amendments must meet the regulation's conditions. Annual volumes are capped at the relevant EU operator's 2025 level.
The exemption initially runs until 25 July 2027 and renews for successive one-year periods unless the Council decides otherwise following an annual review.
The exemption is not company-specific. Any statement that Dynagas could benefit from it should be understood in light of reporting that identified Dynagas as the focus of Greece's intervention. Whether a particular shipment qualifies depends on the relevant contracts meeting the regulation's conditions.
The transport exemption is distinct from the prohibition on maintenance and other services for Russian LNG tankers and icebreakers due to apply from 1 January 2027.
UK vessel designations
The UK designated Clean Ocean (IMO 9637492), Clean Vision (IMO 9655456) and Clean Planet (IMO 9637507) on 15 October 2025 as ships involved in transporting Russian LNG. Clean Horizon is not included on that UK list.
