Netherlands can't refuse ship with Russian oil

The Netherlands cannot prevent a ship with a cargo of Russian gas oil from mooring in the port of Rotterdam, Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs said in response to questions from the PvdA and MP Pieter Omtzigt. The ship, Sunny Liger, is due to arrive in Rotterdam around 6:00 p.m. on Friday, NOS reports.

According to the Minister, the ship sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, not the Russian flag. It is therefore not subject to European sanctions against Russia. This means the Netherlands has no legal basis for refusing it.

The ship was denied access to Sweden, but according to Hoekstra, this was due to resistance from dockworkers, not legal refusal by the Swedish authorities. The dockworkers in the country refuse to unload ships with "ties to Russia." The Sunny Liger then rerouted to Rotterdam. 

The Cabinet is looking into who bought the load of Russian gas oil so that it can talk to the company. The Netherlands wants companies to limit the import of Russian fossil fuels as much as possible. 

Trade union FNV called on the port of Rotterdam workers to also not unload the ship. "It would show a VOC mentality if the Netherlands allowed the ship to dock," Niek Stam of the union said to news wire ANP. "The ship is not a usual customer of the port of Rotterdam, and I, therefore, call on dockworkers to keep their feet off it."