Muristek
PARIS, February 26
French sea police seized a ship on Saturday that authorities suspect belongs to a Russian company targeted by European Union (US) sanctions over the war in Ukraine, a government official said.
'Not our ship'
Moscow: Russia's PSB-Leasing, a unit of Promsvyazbank which is under international sanctions over Russia's conflict with Ukraine, does not own ship 'Baltic Leader' seized by France earlier on Saturday, a news agency said. It quoted the company as saying the vessel had been sold before sanctions were slapped on Promsvyazbank. 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, Magnin said. A French newspaper, which first reported the news, said the vessel was the "Baltic Leader", which sails under a Russian flag. Magnin said the company that owns the ship belongs to a Russian businessman, who is on the EU's list of sanctioned people.
The US Treasury Department said Promsvyazbank was put under sanctions "for operating or having operated in the defense and related materiel and financial services sectors of the Russian Federation economy." It was also targeted by EU sanctions. — Reuters