Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski has called for stronger maritime law to end the illicit shipping of Iranian and Russian oil that is fuelling the war in Ukraine.
Their movement off-radar poses huge security and environmental risks, Mr Sikorski said during a visit to London. There are also concerns about about 300 Iranian vessels shipping oil to bypass sanctions and support Russia.
The ships turn off their transponders to move undetected in commercial shipping routes, increasing the risk of collisions. Nato mobilised forces to protect the seabed and critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea from sabotage in January, and multiple networks have been sanctioned by the US and EU.
Mr Sikorski said: “We are far too lax to have this traffic at sea. It is no good to have this anarchy. I’m hoping that London, which is the seat of the International Maritime Organisation, will look at this.”
Referring to an oil spill in the Azov Sea last December caused by a collision of Russian tankers, he said: “If something like that happened in the Baltic, we would have a major environmental disaster. The Law of the Sea needs to be amended for us to be able to prevent such disasters.”
Synchronised sanctions
New sanctions targeting companies and fleets enabling the flow of Russian oil into global markets were announced by the UK on Wednesday.
Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, were among the 90 entities targeted, as well as four oil terminals in China, 44 shadow fleet tankers and oil-refining company Nayara Energy, based in India.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the sanctions were a “clear signal” that “Russian oil was off the market”.
About 450 Russian-owned ships, their captains and crew members have been sanctioned by the EU for illegally shipping fuel or sabotage.
The reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran this month by the EU will also prohibit engagement with Iranian vessels. The US sanctioned a further 40 vessels and captains linked to shipping Iranian fuel last week. But Mr Sikorski said the list of EU-sanctioned fleets is “not synchronised” with the US’s list.
Asked by The National whether he was satisfied that the sanctions snapback could effectively curb Iran’s cooperation with Russia, Mr Sikorski said: “It is difficult to predict how Iran will react. It would have been in the interest of Iran to have a peaceful nuclear programme with enrichment done somewhere else, and it could have saved itself a lot of unpleasantness in the meantime.”
Many of the Iranian vessels were being tracked despite being off-radar, said ambassador Mark Wallace, chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran.
“They’re not in the shadows. We know where they are, and we have to have a unified front in sanctioning them and making sure that these captains and crew are brought to justice,” he said. “That oil is funding the horrible behaviour by Iran to destabilise the region and is funding the Russian war machine.”
Iran drone threat
It comes as the US considers supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles to counter the threat of Iranian-designed drones that have been raining down on Ukrainian cities.
Up to 23 drones thought to be Russian entered Polish airspace in September before being shot down.
Defence ministers are meeting at Nato headquarters in Brussels to pledge increased defence spending on Ukraine on Wednesday. The alliance has so far committed $2 billion of the $3.5 billion Ukraine estimates it needs.
Mr Sikorski rejected Russian suggestions the potential US move could signal an escalation of the conflict. He said the only way to end the war was not a compromise but to make it clear to Mr Putin that he could not win. “We shouldn’t be deterring ourselves. We should be making Putin wonder what we’re going to do next.”
He said he hoped the US President Donald Trump would devote the same energy to ending the Ukraine war as he has to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “I just hope that President Trump is as forceful with Vladimir Putin as he has reportedly been with the leaders in the Middle East,” he said.
He urged the Iranian government to “stop wasting its resources” on its uranium enrichment programme and “become a normal country, not a cause”. He unveiled an Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drone that had been used by Russia in Ukraine at the Speaker’s House in Parliament on Tuesday.
Iran initially supplied 6,000 of these drones to Russia in addition to the designs, enabling Russia to manufacture its own Geran-2 machines. These drones have been raining down on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, and are a sign of the “deep co-operation” between the two countries. Russia is using Western-made components to make these drones, a Ukrainian official said, a sign of holes in the sanctions against the country.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London’s hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsSilent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
United States
2.
China
3.
UAE
4.
Japan
5
Norway
6.
Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
10.
South Korea
Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
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