A Russian oil tanker scheduled to dock in Wales has been diverted.
It is against UK policy for Russian ships to dock here under sanctions imposed in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The oil tanker, Louie, left the oil loading port of Primorsk in Russia and was due in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, last Friday, BBC Wales reported. Shipping data from Vessel Finder shows its destination was updated to Antwerp in Belgium. It left Antwerp this afternoon.
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Another oil tanker, Pluto, arrived at Milford Haven from Primorsk on February 26, before the ban, and is due to leave for Derry in Northern Ireland tomorrow, Vessel Finder shows.
Both ships carried cargo from Primorsk but fly under the flag of the Marshall Islands.
A spokesperson for the Port of Milford Haven told WalesOnline that the sanctions were tricky to impose. If cargo on a Russian ship was owned by non-Russians and had left Russian waters, it was no longer considered Russian, she said.
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price has warned that some ships were using flags of convenience, “in this case the Marshall Islands”, to get around the UK embargo.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has urged the UK Government to act quickly to prevent loopholes.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has asked ports to block access to Russian “flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered or operated vessels”.
In a letter to port operators, he said the government would “support UK ports in identifying Russian ships”.
Mr Shapps wrote to the ports outlining sanctions.
The port said it didn’t have the power to unilaterally apply sanctions to a vessel bound for it, but would seek clarification on every vessel to check whether sanctions apply.
It would not permit entry to any vessel it had reason to believe was owned, controlled, chartered, or operated by any person connected with Russia.
Milford Haven Port handles tanker deliveries to local oil and gas refineries serving the Valero Refinery, one of the largest manufacturers of fuels in north west Europe. The UK imports 6% of its crude oil from Russia.
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