Spain bars ship carrying Russian cargo

Spain has banned a Maltese ship carrying cargo from a Russian vessel.

That’s according to The Local’s article citing a decision made by the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Ukrinform reports.

“The Maltese-flagged ship Black Star is denied access to Spanish territorial waters because there is evidence that it was carrying cargo transferred from the Russian ship Andrey Pervozvanniy, which is subject to EU sanctions,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Maltese ship had planned to unload cargo, including non-food palm oil and derivatives, on Wednesday night at the port of Barcelona.

Earlier, on April 25, the Spanish authorities prevented the Russian ship Andrey Pervozvanniy from stopping in Barcelona due to EU sanctions imposed on Russia over its military aggression against Ukraine.

The Spanish Ministry of Transport said that according to available information, the cargo from the Andrey Pervozvanniy ship was transferred to the Black Star on April 24 at a distance of 12.5 nautical miles northwest of the island of Malta.

As Ukrinform reported, the fifth package of EU restrictive measures against Russia, adopted on April 8, 2022, envisages, in particular, a ban on access to EU ports for ships registered under the Russian flag. Exceptions will be made for agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.