New EU sanctions against Russia to include port ban

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The UK announced a ban on Russian-linked vessels coming into its ports in early March but has been slow in setting out clear directions on how to implement the ban, pushing responsibility on to port authorities to identify and refuse vessels even when highly complex ownership structures can make isolating ties to Russian interests difficult.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss had said on Tuesday (5 April) that she would ask G7 Foreign Ministers and the NATO Foreign Ministers to announce "a tough new wave of sanctions".

"The reality is that money is still flowing from the West into Putin’s war machine, and that has to stop," Secretary Truss said.

Speaking about western allies collectively, she said "I’ll be working with our partners to go further ... in banning Russian ships from our ports, in cracking down on Russian banks, in going after new industries filling Putin’s war chest like gold, and agreeing a clear timetable to eliminate our imports of Russian oil, gas and coal."

The European Commission has proposed a draft plan to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels “well before 2030,” starting with gas, in light of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The draft plan was announced in early March on the same day that the US committed to a total embargo on Russian energy and the UK announced a phase-out of Russian oil and gas to be complete by the end of 2022.

Both US and UK imports of Russian energy supplies make up a far smaller percentage than those taken by the EU.

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