Ships with Russian petroleum products continue to arrive in Portugal

Petroleum reliant Portugal will see ships laden with Russian fuel products dock at its main port of Sines this week.

Expresso reports that in addition to the cargos of liquified gas delivered on Friday, Portugal will receive orders of vacuum gas oil (VGO) which Portugal’s Galp Energia admitted that formed part of orders already made before the Ukraine invasion crisis.
This week the United States said it would suspend all imports of Russian petroleum products in response to the crisis. Galp Energia had also already stated it will not put in any fresh orders for VGO or other petroleum products from Russia, but will receive orders that are already in transit.
On the websites of various ports in Portugal there are at least tree ships from Russia set to arrive this week.
The first will unload VGO, a product derived from petroleum which Galp Energia has imported from Russia to use in its refinery in the Alentejo.
On Tuesday (8 March), the tanker Chemtrans Mars, sailing under the Liberian flag, unloaded VGO in Sines. It had left the port of Ust Luga in Russia on 27 February three days after the invasion of Ukraine.
Today (9 March) the tanker Kriti Jade will arrive at Sines under a Greek flag to deliver VGO from the Russian port Kavkaz on the Black Sea.
Also, the natural liquified gas terminal managed by REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais received liquid gas imported by the Spanish company Naturgy which sells natural gas for companies in Portugal. The shipment had come from the Russian port of Sabetta in the north of Russia.
Portuguese companies such as Galp, EDP and Endesa do not import GNL from Russia, being supplied instead from Nigeria, Algeria and the United States.
At the end of this week the Lima, which is carrying general cargo, will arrive at the North Portugal port of Leixões on Sunday 13 March.