Ukraine: Calls for sanctions to be extended as Russian ship sails into Humber port
CHOPPY WATERS: Mekhanik Kottsov. Picture by Yusef Forster
EXCLUSIVE
By Kevin Shoesmith
A Russian cargo ship is pictured travelling under the Humber Bridge this weekend - prompting a wave of anger and a pledge by a Hull MP to raise the matter with ministers.
The Hull Story was informed of the passage of Mekhanik Kottsov - an 85-metre-long vessel believed to have been carrying timber into the Port of Goole – by a senior maritime professional.
We photographed the vessel as it passed under the Humber Bridge en route to Goole at 3pm on Sunday.
Associated British Ports, which owns The Port of Goole, says it works with its partners to ensure “appropriate” vessels come into Humber ports. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of this ship’s crew or owners.
However, our well-placed source said many feel it is “immoral” to allow Russian ships to trade in British waters after Russian president Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine, and in the face of the multi-national response of sanctions against Russia, including the EU’s blanket flight ban on Russian planes.
Hull North MP Diana Johnson (Labour) said she now intends to raise the matter with the Government this week.
‘WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR SANCTIONS’: Diana Johnson MP
Ms Johnson said: “After President Putin declared war on Ukraine, there is widespread support for sanctions against Russia targeting trade and the Russian economy.
“I will be raising with the Government what further action can be taken to ensure Russian-flagged ships such as the Mekhanik Kottsov, and trade with Russian-flagged operators with ports in the Humber, are included in the UK's response to the illegal actions of Russia.”
Our source said: “People in this area are angry about this. If a Russian-flagged vessel is free to travel under the Humber Bridge to a British port with what is currently going on in Ukraine, the sanctions clearly do not go far enough.
Mekhanik Kottsov sailing up the Humber. Picture by Yusef Forster
“People are outraged that ABP are doing business with a Russian-flagged ship as the same time that Russia is waging an unjustified war.”
The source said he believes all trade with Russia should cease immediately, with the Humber ports - among the UK’s busiest - being at the forefront of sanctions.
“Russia instigated an unjustified act of aggression against Ukraine,” he said. “I believe there are worrying parallels to the Second World War in respect of Germany’s invasion of Poland.
“The West seem to be sitting on their hands in the hope that it will de-escalate but I think it will just encourage them [Russia].”
The website Marine Traffic states the Mekhanik Kottsov is a Russian-flagged vessel. It says the vessel set off from Inverness at 3:35pm last Wednesday, before anchoring for a period off Immingham.
The ship is pictured flying a Union Jack on her forward mast but the name of the vessel can clearly be seen on her bridge. Our source says it is standard practice for ships to fly the national flag of the destination port. Our source told us the crew is all Russian.
Keith Penrose, 77, of west Hull, watched as the ship passed under the Humber Bridge.
He said: “Russian ships shouldn’t be allowed to dock [here] at the moment. What’s happening in Ukraine is terrible. So many lives are being lost. I just cannot understand Putin.”
Andrew Percy MP (Conservative), whose Brigg and Goole constituency includes The Port of Goole, said: “The Russians should be under no illusion that my constituents and I are full of anger and disgust at their behaviour in Ukraine but of course we have to follow the sanctions.”
Mr Percy made the point that current sanctions are aimed at causing maximum damage to the Russian economy, but added, “they may well be expanded in the coming days and weeks”.
‘NO SUGGESTION OF WRONGDOING’: Mekhanik Kottsov. Picture by Yusef Forster
The MP stressed the need to ensure any Russian-flagged vessels arriving into British ports are not in breach of current sanctions, adding, “we want the maximum assurances on that”.
In a statement, ABP said: “ABP work closely with colleagues in UK Border Force and the Government and follow advice to ensure that all vessels that come into the Humber Ports are appropriate to be here and are fully compliant with UK laws.
“At present, these vessels are not subject to any restrictions or sanctions.”
Over the weekend, the West has continued to ramp up measures designed to hit the Russian economy hard.
In a statement from Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced it is “shutting down the EU airspace for Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft”.
The move means Russian aircraft will be unable to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU, including the private jets of Russian oligarchs.
On Saturday, a Russian cargo ship was seized in the English Channel by French sea police.
Sky News quoted Captain Veronique Magnin of the French Maritime Prefecture as saying that this vessel – identified as the Baltic Leader - could belong to a Russian company suspected of violating trade sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has confirmed that a preschool in north-eastern Ukraine was hit on Friday with widely-banned cluster munitions while civilians took shelter inside, killing three of them, including a child, and wounding another child.
The organisation said the attack appears to have been carried out by Russian forces, which were operating nearby, and which have “a shameful record of using cluster munitions in populated areas”.