A ship carrying Russian oil that was moored in north-west England has moved on after workers made it clear they would not unload the cargo.
The German-flagged Seacod was moored near the Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, but moved away on Sunday, heading north.
On Friday the Unite union said it had informed Stanlow’s owner, India’s Essar Group, that its members would “under no circumstances unload any Russian oil regardless of the nationality of the vessel which delivers it”, echoing steps taken by counterparts at a gas terminal in Kent and in the Netherlands.
A ban on Russian vessels introduced last week by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, does not cover cargo, allowing several ships to dock since then despite carrying gas or oil that was ultimately purchased from Kremlin-controlled entities. Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, urged Shapps “to close this loophole immediately”.
It was not clear if the oil was unloaded before unions became aware it was Russian.
A government spokesperson said: “It is mandatory for all ports and harbours to follow legislation banning all ships that are Russian-owned, operated, controlled, registered or flagged from entering British ports. The government will support all ports in exercising their responsibilities.”
They added: “Ministers are exploring options to further reduce the already small amount of imports we do get from Russia and we continue to urge Europe to put in place plans to end their dependence on Russian gas.”
The Essar Group said: “Essar remains deeply concerned by the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine and is fully complying with the statutory framework implemented by the UK government with regard to Russia-related entities.
“Earlier this week, we turned away two cargoes of non-Russian-origin crude oil which would have been delivered in Russian-flagged tankers. We can confirm that a German-flagged vessel was approved to berth at Tranmere oil terminal by the port authority on Thursday 3 March.
“This vessel set sail for Tranmere on 22 February, before the invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent introduction of UK government sanctions. For a number of days we have been working urgently to find alternative sources of diesel while simultaneously ensuring uninterrupted supply of fuel to the north-west of England.
“Essar will continue to comply fully and will respond promptly to any changes the UK government may make to the statutory framework of sanctions.”
At the weekend Shell defended continuing to buy crude oil from Russia, saying it was necessary to keep energy flowing through Europe. The fossil fuel company said it had made the “difficult decision” to buy an oil shipment from Russia on Friday after intense talks with governments about the potential risks to energy security.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, publicly criticised Shell over the the shipment. “Doesn’t Russian oil smell [like] Ukrainian blood for you?” he wrote on Twitter.
I am told that Shell discretely bought some Russian oil yesterday. One question to @Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell Ukrainian blood for you? I call on all conscious people around the globe to demand multinational companies to cut all business ties with Russia.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 5, 2022
Shell said it would not have been able to source enough oil from other countries in time to cancel the shipment, and would have otherwise risked disrupting energy supplies across the continent.
“We didn’t take this decision lightly and we understand the strength of feelings around it,” Shell said in a statement released on Twitter. “We will continue to choose alternatives to Russian oil wherever possible, but this cannot happen overnight because of how significant Russia is to global supply.”
Read Shell's statement. pic.twitter.com/6mN7KVTiGc
— Shell (@Shell) March 5, 2022
Shell announced last Monday that it would exit its joint ventures with the Russian state energy firm Gazprom, which are collectively worth about $3bn. It means pulling out of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which was due to double Russian gas imports to Germany. Berlin recently called a halt to the project in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It followed similar moves on the previous day by BP, which announced it would offload its 20% stake in the Kremlin-owned oil firm Rosneft.
Despite corporate efforts to reduce ties with Russia and sanctions imposed on individuals, banks and some financial transactions, EU and UK governments have so far stopped short of imposing restrictions that would cause energy shortages within their own borders.
Shell said it would consult with humanitarian agencies on how best to use profits from the “limited amount” of Russian oil it buys to help Ukrainians affected by the invasion.
