Ship with Russian oil cannot enter the port of Amsterdam for the time being

The controversial ship Sunny Liger carrying a cargo of Russian oil cannot enter the port of Amsterdam for the time being. According to the Port of Amsterdam, maritime services such as pilots and tugs have "security concerns" around the ship and therefore do not want to escort it into the port yet.

In the meantime, the FNV trade union is lobbying to ensure that the municipality of Amsterdam speaks out against the arrival of the ship and denies access to it. There has been a stir around the possible arrival of the ship because of the Russian cargo. FNV previously made an appeal not to unload the Sunny Liger in the port of Rotterdam in order to show solidarity with dock workers in Sweden.

The ship was previously unable to land in Sweden. This was not because the Swedish authorities refused the ship, but because the Swedish dock workers refused to unload it.

Later, it turned out that the tanker had turned at sea and was heading in the direction of the Dutch capital. "Currently, the ship is anchored off the coast," said a spokesperson for the port authority. She had no information about a possible arrival time. She indicated that the port authority, the terminals in the port and the maritime services would again discuss how to proceed with the Sunny Liger on Saturday afternoon.

Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) also mentioned the possible arrival of the ship on Friday. According to him, from a legal point of view, the Cabinet can do nothing for the time being to prevent the Sunny Liger from coming to the Netherlands, as the ship is registered in the Marshall Islands and has never sailed under the Russian flag.

However, the minister wanted to see with the port whether a solution could be found so that the ship cannot dock. Hoekstra also called the FNV's appeal to port personnel not to help with docking "very good."