The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

and LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporters 

FREE National Movement Leader Michael Pintard said he is concerned that Russian vessels that have been denied permission to land in the United States and Canada have gained entry into The Bahamas.

His comment came after the Cabinet Office urged local institutions yesterday to deal cautiously with transactions involving Russian people and entities who have been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, Canada and the United Kingdom.

“The matter of sanctions was discussed extensively by the government today, and we are in consultations with all our partners and stakeholders, both domestic and international. This remains an evolving matter,” the Cabinet Office statement said. “We continue to deplore the attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation.”

Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine has drawn widespread condemnation around the world. The United States has urged The Bahamas to restrict access that sanctioned people and institutions could have to this country’s financial system.

According to reports, some two million Ukrainians have already fled the country since the start of the war, with hundreds said to be dead.

Earlier yesterday, Transport and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis was unable to confirm reports that several Russian owned tankers were recently re-routed to The Bahamas due to war sanctions imposed against the country.

On Monday, Reuters reported that three tankers owned by Sovcomflot, a Russian shipping company, were diverted to this country.

According to reports, the information was gleaned from vessel tracking data.

When asked about the issue yesterday, Mrs Coleby-Davis told reporters officials were still investigating to see whether any of the Russian tankers had called on one of the local ports.

She said: “I did follow up with my office port controller Wright and we have been checking up to this morning to determine whether there is actually a call in to our port, for them to come into our port but we haven’t had an update yet from the Freeport port so I am not certain if they have actually called in as yet. For them to re-route and lodge here... we would have to determine what the policy position of the government.”

Last week, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said CARICOM is awaiting a decision from the United Nations Security Council before taking a position on whether member states should impose sanctions on Russia.

Mr Davis’ comments came after the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada began issuing sanctions against Russian oligarchs, freezing and seizing their assets.

US President Joe Biden announced yesterday that America will ban the import of Russian oil, liquified natural gas and coal.

Yesterday, Mrs Coleby-Davis said she believed the government will soon decide on a “policy position” in response to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The US Embassy in Nassau has urged The Bahamas to limit Russia’s access to the Bahamian financial system and to restrict this country’s airspace to Russian aircraft.

Yesterday, Mr Pintard said reports that Russian tankers have been allowed to enter The Bahamas are troubling.

“This story is especially troubling due to its assertion that the Russian state-owned Sovcomflot vessels were not permitted to land in the United States or Canada, two of our most influential strategic western allies along with the United Kingdom, but were allowed to do so in The Bahamas,” he said in a statement.

“As responsible members of the international community, The Bahamas must act in concert with its strategic allies and multilateral partners toward rejecting Russia’s illegal and inhumane invasion of the sovereign state of Ukraine. As I indicated recently, we need to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine whose territory has been violated and millions of its citizens displaced, and many others dying daily because of Russia’s hostility.

“We call upon the Bahamian government to act more decisively in the interest of sovereignty, humanity and the maintenance of international laws and norms. Despite the associated risks—as a people—we must be found to be standing on the side of principle and legality, and in the interests of humanity.

“As such, the opposition calls upon the government of The Bahamas to elucidate its policy relative to Russia so that the Bahamian people and the international community might know where we stand.”