It’s time to block Russian companies funding Putin’s regime from UK ports

If we sanction Russia’s largest shipping company, Sovcomflot, then its major clients will have no excuse not to leave their contracts, writes Alistair Carmichael

Monday 28 February 2022 14:14 GMT

This state-owned behemoth is a major force in global shipping (Business Wire/AP)

“The result of the measures that the House passed the other day is that we can now target any entity – any company – that has any relation with the Russian state. We have that power.”

We have that power. These were pretty unambiguous words from the prime minister in the Commons on Thursday when I asked him to investigate the access of Russian-owned Sovcomflot tankers at UK ports.

Now we must move from having that power to using that power. The prime minister must sanction and block Russian state-owned companies from using UK facilities as they fund Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

The issue is urgent. The next Sovcomflot tanker, NS Champion, is scheduled to arrive at Flotta in my constituency of Orkney and Shetland in just one day. The government was too slow to block a previous tanker in Shetland last week – we cannot delay any further.

When I first raised the issue of Sovcomflot with Boris Johnson, I did not quite appreciate the scale or nature of the company’s reach. This state-owned behemoth is a major force in global shipping. It earns massive amounts of money operating contracts for some of the biggest oil companies in the world – and the money that it earns goes back to the Putin regime as it assaults Ukraine.

I can, perhaps, understand why the companies which contract with Sovcomflot are reluctant to break their existing contracts with this arm of the Putin mafia. Legally speaking, if they break their contracts without cause they would be liable to pay fees back to Sovcomflot – and while I am sure that the likes of BP and Shell can afford such fees, no one wants to see that money going to Moscow.

By the same token, port authorities and workers like those at Flotta and Sullom Voe in the Northern Isles – disgusted though many of them are at having to support Putin’s company – currently have a legal obligation to serve them like any other, unless and until they are targeted for sanctions.

But we have the power to do so. If we sanction Sovcomflot as a tool of the Putin regime, then its major clients will have no excuse not to leave their contracts. If we take the action we are empowered to perform, then workers in my constituency will have the freedom to deny succour to those who fund the dictator’s war machine.

When we see armed conflict on our continent, funded by unfettered commerce on our doorstep, we cannot look away.

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This is a personal issue for many in my constituency. The Northern Isles played a critical role in the war on fascism 80 years ago. Scapa Flow – where the NS Champion is expected to arrive imminently – was the centre of the UK naval effort. It remains a source of pride in our community.

Scapa Flow is the resting place of many of the 835 men and boys who lost their lives when the HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a U-boat in 1939. The remains of the Royal Oak still lie on the seabed of Scapa Flow today. It is a designated war grave just a short distance from where the NS Champion will arrive for servicing.

To allow Sovcomflot to operate in Scapa Flow would be to dishonour the memory of the sacrifice the crew of the Royal Oak and others made in their fight against fascism.

A new sort of fascism led by Vladimir Putin – aggressive, militaristic, authoritarian – is now attacking the people of Ukraine. Amongst the many other actions we can take to help Ukraine and hinder Putin’s assault, we must block Sovcomflot and others which help fund his regime.