European companies have nearly doubled their shipments of Russian oil since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began, despite European leaders’ desperate efforts to rein in the Kremlin’s war machine by blocking Russian exports from world markets.

Campaigners said EU-based shipping companies had made a ‘mockery’ of sanctions plans against Russia, and warned a partial oil embargo announced this week would do little to hurt Mr Putin or shorten the war.

The damning assessment came as an exclusive new analysis, seen by The Independentshowed how shipping companies based in Greece, Cyprus and Malta have stepped up their transport of Russian oil around the world in recent weeks, taking advantage of sharp increases in tanker cargo tariffs.

The shipments have swelled Mr Putin’s coffers with billions of dollars in oil revenue, providing vital funds for Russia’s brutal war, figures show.

As European leaders finally reached an agreement this week for a watered-down embargo on Russian oil, European tankers laden with Russian crude have been plying an increasingly lucrative trade.

Analysis of Refinitiv shipping data by anti-corruption group Global Witness shows Europe’s top three shipping countries – Greece, Cyprus and Malta – have rapidly increased the amount of Russian oil they have been transporting each month since the start of the war.

In February, when Mr Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, companies and ships linked to the three countries moved 31 million barrels of Russian oil. By May, that figure had risen to 58 million barrels. In total, vessels linked to Greece, Malta and Cyprus have carried 178m barrels, worth $17.3bn (£13.9bn) at current Russian crude prices, since february.

At the start of the war, ships linked to these countries carried just over a third of the oil exports from Russian ports. By May, that figure had risen to just over half.

Anastassia Fedyk, a finance professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, said the findings were “very concerning.”

“The EU has a leverage effect on Russia due to an inelastic energy supply: it is difficult and costly for Russia to divert its energy elsewhere. Allowing EU-flagged vessels to carry Russian oil therefore only undermines the EU’s bargaining power.

“An oil embargo must be an oil embargo, and it is not an oil embargo,” said Fedyk, a member of the International Task Force on Russian Sanctions and co-organizer of the Economists for Ukraine initiative.

“This is a policy that will partially reduce oil deliveries while promoting some structural changes in the oil logistics industry,” she said.

The European Commission finally announced on Tuesday its intention to ban maritime imports of Russian crude into the trading bloc, but the measures will be phased in over the months and have been significantly weakened following disputes between member states of the EU.

Russian oil will continue to flow into Europe via a pipeline through Hungary, and after lobbying by shipping interests in Greece, Malta and Cyprus, EU-registered ships and companies will be allowed to continue transporting oil. oil from Russian ports to non-EU countries.

This means that EU companies can continue to benefit from the facilitation of Russian oil transfers to countries like India and China, which have proven to be willing buyers for crude oil that Europe does not want. more.

China is now the largest importer of Russian oil, having increased its purchases since the start of the war.

Since many companies have since shunned Russian crude, the minority of companies that wish to continue shipping it are able to collect exceptional fees. A big tanker sailing from Primorsk could collect $32,500 a day from Friday, up from less than $10,000 before the invasion, a shipping industry source said.

Experts and campaigners have warned that the failure of European leaders to stop EU-controlled vessels carrying Russian cargo will leave a gaping hole in the partial embargo.

The EU’s dithering also punished European consumers, as markets drove up oil prices for weeks in expectation of a tough embargo to be announced, Ms Fedyk said.

“Ordinary citizens of European countries have paid more for Russian oil without actually punishing Russia – in fact, only increasing Russia’s war revenues, as the Russian Finance Ministry has openly boasted. “, she said. The exclusion of maritime sanctions is counterproductive and needs to be reconsidered urgently, Ms Fedyk added.

While some companies, such as Shell and BP, have sought to publicly distance themselves from Russia’s oil and gas industries, others have stepped in to fill the breach. Among them are companies owned by some of Greece’s wealthiest maritime oligarchs.

There is no indication that any of the companies or their owners violated the sanctions or broke the law. But these figures raise questions about the effectiveness of international efforts to financially squeeze Mr Putin’s regime and end the bloodshed in Ukraine.

Greece’s former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said the country’s shipowners had every interest in blocking any disruption in the sale of Russian oil.

However, he argued that the industry contributes “almost nothing” to the Greek economy, as its ships are often registered in other countries and the profits are kept offshore, beyond the reach of the Greek government.

Louis Goddard, senior data investigations adviser at Global Witness, said: “Since the invasion of Ukraine, European oilmen have not only maintained their murderous trade in Russian oil: they have increase.

“Vessels linked to Greece, Cyprus and Malta make a mockery of EU efforts to sanction Putin’s war machine, keeping cash flowing to Russia as the country’s armed forces continue to strike the ‘Ukraine.

“To close this gaping loophole, the EU must firmly oppose lobbying by all member states with direct interests in Russia’s oil trade and put restrictions on shipping at the heart of its sanctions regime.”

Benjamin L Schmitt, associate fellow at Harvard University and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said Europe’s failure to completely ban Russian oil meant that “Moscow will continue to feel insufficient pressure to give in in its ongoing atrocities against Ukrainian sovereignty”.

As oil prices rose sharply, the Kremlin saw its finances expand dramatically, posting a record current account surplus in April.

The Russian government is on track to receive an unprecedented $250 billion cash injection this year, said Clay Lowery, vice president of the Institute of International Finance.

“This massive influx of hard currency means there is ample liquidity and therefore low interest rates, which keeps Russia’s finances more stable even as its economy deteriorates,” he said.

He added that a maritime embargo could be the key to preventing the redirection of oil exports to countries like China and India.