‘Around 10’ Russian oil and gas tankers turned away from UK ports since Ukraine invasion

Russian vessels bannked from docking at British ports due to ‘unprovoked premeditated attack’ on Ukraine, transport secretary says

The UK has banned Russian ships from docking at its ports (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Around 10 Russian oil and gas tankers have been turned away from UK ports since the invasion of Ukraine, according to government estimates.

The UK asked port authorities to block access to Russian ships in late February in response to the attack, which has killed hundreds of civilians, forced an estimated 1.5 million to flee and devastated cities.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, wrote to ports to announce the move on 28 February - several days after Russian troops moved into neighbouring Ukraine.

Since then, the Department for Transport estimates around 10 Russian oil and gas tankers have been turned away from the UK or forced to divert course due to the sanctions, The Independent understands.

This was the estimated figure as of Wednesday.

In his letter to ports last week, Mr Shapps said they should block ships that fly the Russian flag, or which were believed to be controlled, chartered or operated by someone with Russien ties. The ban also included ships registered in Russia.

This was due to an “unprovoked premeditated attack” on Ukraine by the country, the transport secretary said.

The British Ports Association estimated the would only impact a “relatively small number of vessels” after it was announced.

But boats carrying Russial fossil fuels that do not hail from the country have also faced resistence from workers, despite not being covered by the UK’s ban, in light of the invasion of Ukraine.

Workers have also refused to unload tankers of Russian fossil fuels - even when the boat hailed from another country - in solidarity with Ukraine.

Dock workers in Kent refused to unload a ship carrying Russian gas in Kent last week, leading to it being forced to dock elsewhere.

In Cheshire, refingery workers have also refused to deal with a German-flagged ship carrying Russian oil - even though this was not government policy.

On Tuesday, the UK said it would phase out Russian oil by the end of the year and would consider how to reduce its dependency on Russian gas.