Dutch dockers refused to unload a tanker carrying Russian diesel in Amsterdam on Saturday, a day after a similar action prevented the ship from docking in Rotterdam. The Sunny Liger, a 42,000 ton tanker, is currently anchored off Amsterdam. Dockers in the port of Rotterdam also refused to handle their cargo on Friday.
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“Last night we asked all parties in the Amsterdam port not to let the ship dock,” said Asmae Hajjari, chair of the dockers’ section of the FNV union. “The ship will not enter the port of Amsterdam,” she added in a tweet. The Sunny Liger departed from Primorsk near St. Petersburg a week ago, and the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker’s final destination was Amsterdam, according to maritime website MarineTraffic.com.
“At the moment the ship is anchored in the North Sea. At the moment he has not applied for permission to enter the port,” said Marcella Wesseling, spokeswoman for the port of Amsterdam. “Basically, we cannot refuse him entry because he does not fall under the sanctions regime (against Russia),” she told AFP. However, a company tasked with towing the ship into port said it would refuse to do so if asked and said it could create a dangerous situation if protesters tried to prevent the boat from entering, reported the TV station RTL New.
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“The service providers and the port terminal have signaled concerns about the safety of handling this ship,” said Marcella Wesseling. The European Union has imposed tough sanctions on Moscow since invading Ukraine on February 24, but oil and gas are currently exempt. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Friday the Sunny Liger could not legally be refused entry into a Dutch port but supported the dockers’ actions.