Fighting has taken place in the area. Frontline says they will no longer sail to Russian ports.
On Thursday night, the ship is on the nest at the Black Sea entrance to Istanbul, but earlier this week the “Front Cougar” was in a Russian port. To the left Frontline’s strong man, John Fredriksen.
–
–
The ship “Front Cougar”, belonging to the John Fredriksen-dominated shipping company Frontline, arrived on Thursday the Black Sea entrance to Istanbul, after loading naphtha – a product for use at oil refineries – in the Russian Black Sea city of Novorossiysk a little over a day earlier.
The ship sailed from the Russian port just after midnight on Wednesday, according to the website Marine Traffic.
Novorossiysk is a port city on the Russian Black Sea coast, close to the Crimean peninsula.
The city is also located at the entrance to the Sea of Ashov, where Mariupol is a coastal city. Mariupol is one of the cities hardest hit by the war in Ukraine, with hundreds killed in heavy fighting.
– Contractually bound
Frontline CEO Lars Barstad confirms to E24 that the company’s ships were there, and says they were contractually bound to carry out the voyage.
– Frontline carried out a thorough safety analysis that involved the captain and crew of the ship, technical manager and external advisers before we allowed the ship to sail. We were contractually bound to sail, when safety was found satisfactory, he writes in an e-mail on Thursday night.
– The ship had stopped before Russia invaded Ukraine and the sanctions were introduced, at rates before the invasion, he continues.
–“Front Cougar” in port outside Liverpool, England in July 2019. The photo is reproduced with permission from the photographer.
–
Huge area
It was shippingnettstedet TradeWinds who first mentioned the “Front Cougars” sailed to the Russian city. They quote Barstad that he should have said “Wish me luck on one last ship out of Russia” – wish me luck on one last ship out of Russia – and that it “was out of the question” not to complete the contract.
To E24, he writes that the case was “taken very out of context”, and he repeats that they made thorough assessments.
– Although the Black Sea looks small on a globe, it is a huge area, and where the ship sailed, of course, no threat has been reported to any vessel, neither before nor after, for that matter.
–Lars Barstad, CEO of Frontline.
–
Will avoid Russian ports
The frontline chief further writes that they will now refrain from sailing to ports controlled by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
– In this escalating situation, we of course avoid sailing to Russian ports, Lars Barstad tells E24.
“Front Cougar” is a 250 meter long tanker manufactured in China. It is owned by a “single purpose” company which in turn is controlled by listed Frontline Ltd., where John Fredriksen is the dominant owner.
Thursday night, the ship is on the nest at the Black Sea entrance to the Bosphorus and Istanbul.
–
