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South Korea to Take Legal Action Over Alleged Fuel Shipments to Russia
Confirmed
In Short: South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will take legal action if illegal fuel shipments to Russia are confirmed, amid Ukrainian allegations.
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated it will take legal action if illegal fuel shipments to Russia are confirmed, following allegations from an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
An investigation by The Guardian, based on port records and ship-tracking data, found that more than 176,000 tonnes of fuel, mostly diesel, were loaded at South Korean ports in July and August onto seven tankers that made 14 voyages to Russia’s Far East.
In response to these allegations, South Korea’s presidential office dismissed the statement by Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on sanctions policy, and asked Ukraine to refrain from making public remarks without sufficient verification.
The government of South Korea said the refined petroleum products involved were not covered by South Korea’s export controls on Russia, which apply mainly to industrial machinery, electronics, and vehicles.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that no exports of commercial petroleum products to Russia have been confirmed through customs clearance procedures, and that the government is investigating the cases.
The government also noted that the mere fact that a vessel did not proceed directly to the final destination country stated on its declaration and instead moved to another country makes it difficult to conclude that there is a suspicion of false declaration of destination.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the government hopes that all outstanding issues between the two countries will be resolved amicably and will continue consultations with the Ukrainian side to that end.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry reportedly said on Wednesday that it had raised the fuel shipments with Seoul through closed diplomatic channels and asked for an explanation.
The Guardian found that the sanctioned tanker Layla made two voyages from Ulsan to Vladivostok, carrying a combined 57,000 tonnes of diesel.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said whether fuel of South Korean origin, such as diesel, had been exported “has not been confirmed,” adding that no diesel, aviation fuel, or motor petrol had been “exported” from South Korea to Russia through customs clearance.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would examine the tankers’ actual routes, any divergence from their declared destinations, and the reasons for them, before judging whether the law had been broken.
What this adds
South Korea has shipped over 150,000 tonnes of fuel to Russia using sanctioned tankers, raising concerns over Seoul's support for Ukraine.
The shipments involved seven tankers making 14 voyages to Russia’s far east, according to an analysis of port records and ship-tracking data.
Three of the tankers were under UK and EU sanctions.
It is unclear who owned or sold the fuel, which South Korean port records do not show publicly.
Background
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will take legal action if illegal fuel shipments to Russia are confirmed, amid Ukrainian allegations.
South Korea has shipped over 150,000 tonnes of fuel to Russia using sanctioned tankers, raising concerns over Seoul's support for Ukraine.
What's confirmed
- South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the government will take legal action over illegal fuel shipments to Russia if allegations from an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are confirmed.
- An investigation by The Guardian, based on port records and ship-tracking data, found that more than 176,000 tonnes (metric tons) of fuel, mostly diesel, were loaded at South Korean ports in July and August onto seven tankers that made 14 voyages to Russia’s Far East.
- Responding to a Guardian report that revealed thousands of tonnes of fuel was transported to Russia, Seoul said it was investigating the cases Responding to a Guardian report that revealed thousands of tonnes of fuel was transported to Russia, Seoul said it was investigating the cases South Korea will take legal action if it finds that shipments of fuel from its ports to Russia broke domestic law, the government has said, responding to a Guardian report on the trade.
- Isaac Levi, an analyst at the Finland-based think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), told The Guardian that the shipments undermine Western sanctions and South Korea’s support for Ukraine.
- On Wednesday South Korea’s presidential office said those remarks were “contrary to fact and inappropriate”, and asked Ukraine to refrain from public comment that could damage South Korea’s international credibility.
- Thursday’s statement from Seoul said the refined petroleum products involved were not covered by South Korea’s export controls on Russia, which apply mainly to industrial machinery, electronics and vehicles.
- Ukraine’s foreign ministry reportedly said on Wednesday that it had raised the fuel shipments with Seoul through closed diplomatic channels and asked for an explanation.
- An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that the shipments stood in “sharp contrast” to South Korea’s sanctions policies.
- The government said whether fuel of South Korean origin, such as diesel, had been exported “has not been confirmed”, adding that no diesel, aviation fuel or motor petrol had been “exported” from South Korea to Russia through customs clearance.
- It is unclear who owned or sold the fuel, which South Korean port records do not show publicly.
- It said it would examine the tankers’ actual routes, any divergence from their declared destinations and the reasons for them, before judging whether the law had been broken.
- The government also cautioned that the “mere fact that a vessel did not proceed directly to the final destination country stated on its declaration and instead moved to another country makes it difficult to conclude that there is a suspicion of false declaration of destination”.
What's still developing
- Relations between South Korea and Ukraine have been strained for the past couple of weeks after Seoul accused Zelenskyy of having “unilaterally disclosed” to the United Nations General Assembly that Kyiv had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.
- Seoul Korea demanded an official apology from Kyiv, claiming the Ukrainian president had breached a non-disclosure agreement.
- Ever-tighter sanctions against Moscow have left a South Korean shipbuilder struggling to find buyers for specialized vessels intended to serve Russia’s newest liquefied natural gas facility, threatening to delay exports from the Arctic project.
- R ussia announced Monday it would escalate its military campaign against Kyiv, warning foreign nationals and diplomats to evacuate the Ukrainian capital as it threatened to strike "decision-making centres" and command posts, drawing swift defiance from Western missions and Ukrainian officials.
- Efforts to bring the fighting to a close have gained little traction.
- Its shipments of alumina to Russia have risen significantly since the full-scale invasion and now represent about half of the plant’s business, according to the Irish Times.
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- The response mirrored that of diplomatic missions earlier this month, when Russia issued a similar warning ahead of its Victory Day military parade on Red Square, threatening massive strikes on central Kyiv if Ukraine attempted to disrupt the event.
- The reported route would mirror a similar shipment in 2022, when around 22,000 barrels of jet fuel were transported from Chiba to Russia’s Far Eastern port of Vladivostok via Yeosu.
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- An Irish government inquiry found no proof that Aughinish’s output entered Russia’s military supply chain, but could not rule out that possibility.
- According to the Ukrainian official, the shipments were allegedly carried out using sanctioned oil tankers and would violate the measures adopted by Seoul against Moscow.