The oil tanker is set to dock in Dublin on Saturday night.
The Government has been urged to intervene with regards to an oil tanker scheduled to dock in Dublin Port this weekend.
The STI Clapham is carrying a cargo of oil from Russia and will arrive at the port on Saturday evening, 12 March.
Representatives from SIPTU, Ireland’s largest trade union, have called upon Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to turn away the vessel.
“Given the unfolding horror in Ukraine as the invasion by Russia aggressively proceeds, our members and other workers who are expected to unload this vessel are angry and upset at being put in this position,” said SIPTU Divisional Organiser Karan O Loughlin in a statement issued on Friday.
“While a range of different sanctions are being rolled out across the EU against Russia, the Government needs to speak up on humanitarian grounds and turn this vessel around.
“It is unconscionable to accept this cargo in the present circumstances,” she added.
Raising the subject of Ireland’s military neutrality, O Loughlin argued that this should not prevent the country from displaying solidarity in other ways, including blocking the tanker in question.
“The Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, has insisted that Ireland, on a humanitarian level, is not neutral in this war so how can the Government accept this cargo in all good conscience?” asked O Loughlin.
“Dublin Port is wholly owned by the State so the Government has the authority to refuse entry for this vessel to the port.
“Workers should not be expected to carry the weight of circumstances such as these and are urgently calling on the Government and the Dublin Port company to ensure the STI Clapham is prevented from landing its Russian oil cargo in Ireland.”
The Department of Transport has noted that it is aware of the imminent arrival of the tanker.
Meanwhile, the European Union is set to impose further sanctions on Russia following an announcement by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Friday.
“We will stop the group close to Putin and the architects of the war from using these assets to grow and transfer their wealth,” said von der Leyen.
“We will ban the export of any EU luxury goods from our countries to Russia as a direct blow to the Russian elite.
“Those who would sustain Putin’s war machine should no longer be able to enjoy their lavish lifestyle while bombs fall on innocent people in Ukraine.”
The three sweeping waves of sanctions and the extension of their scope this week have hit Russia's economy very hard.
The 4th package will be an additional blow to Putin’s regime.
The invasion of Ukraine has to stop. pic.twitter.com/GFUisNpLWk
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 11, 2022
Speaking in Versailles on Friday evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin referred to a “grave situation” that he anticipates will worsen before it improves.
“We need to be ahead of events,” he said.
“This is a grave situation, and there was a sense in the last 48 hours that this war is going to get worse before it gets better.”
The Taoiseach once again condemned the “inhuman” attacks being carried out in Ukraine, speaking of “real concerns” associated with Vladimir Putin’s potential use of nuclear power.
“There is quite a considerable degree of foreboding in terms of what Vladimir Putin is capable of doing in situations like this,” he said.
Featured Images via Sam Boal / Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie
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