Spain Denies Entry Of Tanker Loaded With Russian Diesel

Spain has refused entry into its Tarragona port to a vessel dubbed the Maersk Magellan. It’s a Singapore-flagged ship, which was transporting oil products from a Russian vessel, per the country’s Transport Ministry reports on 10 Feb.

Maersk Magellan had been planning to unload diesel at Tarragona after receiving the cargo from a Cameroon-flagged vessel dubbed Nobel, which till July 1, was sailing with a Russian flag, the ministry mentioned.

The EU was following an embargo on Russia’s crude in 2022 with a strict ban on diesel imports from Russia since 5 Feb. An EU norm is to be implemented on vessels that altered flags after 24 February 2022.

Ship-to-ship transfer
Image for representation purposes only

The Spanish action follows from press releases in Europa Press and El Confidencial on 9 February. 

The relevant port authority of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa had reportedly sent out a written warning to two local service providers asking them not to aid Russia’s vessels operating in international waters close by.

The reports mentioned that service providers would be caught in breach of sanctions if they aid ship-to-ship transfers that have been taking place in the region with regularity, citing an anonymous port authority.

References: SP Global, Newsbreak

Latest Shipping News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *