UK union Unison, which represents many of the dock workers at the Grain LNG terminal, said that while workers had not outright refused to unload the cargo of the Boris Vilkitsky and the Fedor Litke, they had expressed unease and concern at handling Russian LNG due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The UK recently barred Russian vessels’ access to UK ports, but the legislation does not account for the ownership of a ship’s cargo.
UNISON head of energy Matt Lay said: “These tankers appear to have gone away for now. But the cargo could be back on other ships within days.”
In the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, the UK barred access to ports of all vessels owned, controlled, chartered, or operated by any person connected with Russia; owned, controlled, chartered or operated by designated persons; flying the Russian flag; registered in Russia. The secretary of state for transport Grant Schapps also has the ability to bar vessels from UK ports.
“Grant Shapps and other ministers must deal with this issue properly. Even ships with a clear Russian connection are causing confusion and could slip through the net to reach a UK port,” said Lay.
"The government also needs to clarify what it means by operators. The Boris Vilkitsky was chartered by a company based in Singapore, but majority Russian-owned. It's not at all clear whether it's covered by the ban.
"The transport secretary claims all ships with Russian connections are now barred from UK ports. But companies are free to get around the rules by hiring ships from other countries to import Russian goods. The government should act right away if these sanctions are to be fit for purpose.”
On March 2, Unison called for government intervention to prevent the ships docking, saying that: “Staff working at Grain LNG are angry that they might be asked to unload the ships’ cargoes. Unison says they fear losing their jobs if they refuse once the Boris Vilkitsky and the Fedor Litke have anchored off the Isle of Grain.”
