Turkish company that ships Russian oil active in Netherlands

A Turkish shipping company that also ships Russian oil was active in Dutch ports after the European Union sanctions banning the import of Russian oil was in effect. Customs could not confirm whether Russian oil was unloaded in the Netherlands, RTL Nieuws reports.

The company involved is Beks Ship Management, which operates from the Turkish port city of Istanbul. According to research by the anti-corruption organization Global Witness, Beks is the fourth largest shipping company in the Russian oil trade. Russia uses oil revenues to fund the war in Ukraine.

An RTL analysis of shipping data showed at least two Beks tankers moored at Dtuch ports with large oil refineries and oil terminals. In March, a Beks oil tanker moored at the port of Rotterdam before continuing to the Russian oil port of Primorsk. And in May, another Beks tanker docked in Amsterdam and then continued to Vysotsk, another Russian oil port.

The European Union imposed sanctions banning the import of crude oil from Russia on December 5 and banning refined oil products from the country on February 5.

Customs couldn’t tell RTL whether the Beks tankers actually unloaded Russian oil when docked in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. But a spokesperson for the port of Amsterdam authority confirmed that the Beks Swan was transporting “oil products” to the Zenith Terminal in the port area’s Amerikahaven. Martijn Joon, director of the Zenith Terminal, confirmed that the ship moored with them but said that his company had no direct involvement therein. “The ships are chartered by our customers.”

Parliamentarians are concerned about the issue, according to RTL. D66 MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma and VVD MP Ruben Brekelmans demanded an immediate investigation into whether the shipping company was evading sanctions. “Sanction evasion carries severe financial penalties up to a significant portion of global turnover,” Sjoerdsma told the newspaper.