Tribunnews Reporter, Nur Febriana Trinugraheni
TRIBUNNEWS.COM, HOUSTON – Two oil tankers run by Russia’s biggest shipping company Sovcomflot were diverted from their original destinations for Canada.
Meanwhile, a third ship has reportedly returned to Russia due to sanctions imposed by Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
The UK and Canada prohibit ships that are Russian-flagged, operated or owned from docking in their ports. Meanwhile, Sovcomflot has been blacklisted by the United States.
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The two Russian oil tankers changed course after Canada stepped up pressure on Russia, closing their ports and barring Russian ships from entering Canadian territorial waters.
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker SCF Neva reportedly changed course from Canada on Thursday (3/3/2022) and is currently heading to Bahamas waters.
The ship was transporting bunker fuel for Canadian oil and gas company Irving Oil.
Irving Oil, which owns a refinery in the city of Saint John, confirmed that SCF Neva was scheduled to arrive at the refinery.
Irving Oil spokeswoman Katherine d’Entremont said the vessel was diverted because of its Russian affiliation.
“The ship did not carry products from Russia, but because of its Russian affiliation it was transferred by our supplier,” said Katherine d’Entremont.
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Katherine d’Entremont added that Irving Oil’s operations and supplies to customers will not be disrupted and will continue to run normally.
The second vessel, the SCF Ussuri, a tanker chartered by Canadian energy company Suncor Energy, is currently reported to be near St. Bay. Lawrence, Canada after suspending their original route to Montreal, Canada. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Montreal on March 1.
The third tanker SCF Yenisei, meanwhile, changed its destination on Thursday to return to Russia’s Vanino port after releasing the product they transported earlier this month at the port of Anacortes, on the West Coast of the United States.
Russian-flagged ships actually make up a very small percentage of US traffic, but a ban on Russian cargo passing through the United States is expected to have a much bigger impact.
