Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned South Korea’s ambassador in Moscow on Monday and demanded that Seoul allow a Russian vessel to leave South Korea’s port of Busan, Reuters reported.
The vessel, named ‘Sevastopol’, was one of six Russian-flagged vessels targeted by United States sanctions in August for their alleged breach of United Nations restrictions on North Korea.
Namely, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) added in August the Russian company Gudzon Shipping Co. to the sanction list, after its ship ‘Patriot’ reportedly violated the UN Security Council ban on STS transfers to North Korean tankers. The ‘Sevastopol’ was one of a total of six ships of the company that were added to the list as a penalty.
Now the Russian ministry supports that the ‘Sevastopol’ ‘has been illegally held at the port’.
Meanwhile, the US accused the vessels and two Russian shipping companies of involvement in the transfer of refined petroleum products to North Korean vessels, but Russia denies the allegations.
