Dutch port workers refuse to unload Russian diesel tanker in Amsterdam

World

Published: 2022-04-30 18:17

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 14:17


Dutch port workers refuse to unload Russian diesel tanker in Amsterdam
Dutch port workers refuse to unload Russian diesel tanker in Amsterdam

Dutch port workers refused on Saturday to unload a tanker carrying a cargo of Russian diesel in Amsterdam, a day after a similar measure prevented the ship from entering the port of Rotterdam.

The 42,000-tonne tanker, the Sunny Liger, is currently moored off Amsterdam while port companies were looking to enter the Dutch capital, a day after dock workers in Rotterdam also refused to handle its cargo.

"Late last night we asked all parties in the port of Amsterdam not to allow the ship to dock and not to deal with it," said Asmaa Hajjari, head of the port workers' branch of the Dutch union.

"The tanker will not enter the port of Amsterdam," she added in a tweet.

Amsterdam was the final destination of the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, having set off from Primorsk near St Petersburg a week ago, according to MarineTraffic.com.

"At the moment, the ship is moored in the North Sea. So far, it has not applied for permission to enter the port," Amsterdam port spokeswoman Marcela Wesseling said.

"In principle, we cannot refuse entry to it because it does not fall within the sanctions regime" imposed on Russia, she told AFP.

And the Dutch RTL News channel reported that a company responsible for bringing the ship into a port said it would refuse to bring the ship into the port of Amsterdam if asked to do so, because this could lead to an unsafe situation if the demonstrators decided to prevent the ship from entering.

Wesseling noted that a ship might be allowed into port if it made a formal request, but "only if it is safe to do so (...) if there is any doubt about it, we can take a different decision."

And she stressed that "the marine service providers at the port and terminal have indicated that they have concerns about the safety of handling this vessel."

The European Union has imposed a harsh package of sanctions on Moscow since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

But Russian oil and gas are not subject to sanctions.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wocke Hoekstra said Friday that it was not legal to deny entry to the Sunny Liger tanker at a Dutch port, and that he supported the port workers' protest as well.