France seizes ship suspected of violating sanctions against Russia

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BOULOGNE-SUR-MER — French sea police seized a ship on Saturday that authorities suspect belongs to a Russian company targeted by European Union sanctions over the war in Ukraine, a government official told Reuters.

The cargo vessel transporting cars, which was headed for St. Petersburg, is “strongly suspected of being linked to Russian interests targeted by the sanctions,” said Captain Veronique Magnin of the French Maritime Prefecture.

The ship was diverted to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France between 3 am and 4 am (0200-0300 GMT), Magnin said, adding ongoing checks were being carried out by customs officials and the ship’s crew was “being cooperative .”

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French newspaper La Voix Du Nord, which first reported the news, said the vessel was the “Baltic Leader,” which – according to website marinetraffic.com – sails under a Russian flag.

The vessel is mentioned in a United States Treasury document https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0602 detailing US sanctions against Russia, which linked it to a Russian bank, Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company (PSB).

“PSB was designated for operating or having operated in the defense and related materiel and financial services sectors of the Russian Federation economy,” the US Treasury said. It was also targeted by EU sanctions.

PSB did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

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Magnin told Reuters the company that owns the ship belongs to a Russian businessman who is on the EU’s list of sanctioned people.

The Russian embassy in France is seeking an explanation from authorities over the seizure, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted the embassy as saying.

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted the Russian embassy as saying all 19 people on board had been allowed to come ashore.

EU states on Friday agreed to freeze European assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister to punish Russia for the attack on Ukraine. A wider list of sanctioned people was put in place earlier this month. (Reporting by Pascal Rossignol Tassilo Hummel , additional reporting by Reuters Moscow bureau, Editing by Mark Potter)