UK becomes first country to ban Russian ships from accessing ports
The UK has become the first country to pass a law banning all Russian ships from docking at its ports, transport secretary Grant Shapps announced this morning.
“At London’s Foreign Office where we’ve just become the first nation to pass a law involving a total BAN of ALL ships with ANY Russian connection whatsoever from entering British ports,” he said in a tweet. “Please retweet to encourage all countries to do the same in support of the people of Ukraine.”
The government’s decision comes a day after Shapps wrote to all UK ports asking them to deny access to all Russian owned, controlled, chartered and operated vessels, City PM reported.
“Given Putin’s action in Ukraine I’ve made clear these vessels are not welcome here,” he tweeted yesterday, making it clear the government would help ports to identify Russian vessels.
Despite some initial doubts about the sanction’s feasibility, UK ports accepted the resolution saying they would be working alongside ministers to “stand against an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state.”
“The new law is a hard-hitting sanction which will heap further pressure on President Putin,” a UK Chamber of Shipping spokesperson told today City PM
“The banning of ships with Russian interests from UK ports is complex but we fully support the action taken by the government.”