The MEKHANIK PYATLIN was scheduled to arrive in Hull on Thursday (Mar 3) However Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has this afternoon called on the UK’s port operators to deny access to any Russian vessel following the invasion of Ukraine.
Pressure on the government to ban all Russian ships from using UK ports has intensified over the weekend with much focus on the imminent arrival of a Russian-owned oil tanker in Orkney.
The NS CHAMPION, owned by the largely- state-controlled shipping company Sovocomflot, is due to berth at the Flotta oil terminal in Orkney tomorrow to collect crude oil.
The ship’s imminent arrival had sparked protests on the Orkney Islands while the Unite trade union said it will support its members if they boycott the docking of the tanker.
