South Korea said it may take legal action if an investigation finds that fuel shipments from its ports to Russia violated domestic law. The foreign and trade ministries and customs service said they are checking information on the loading cases and will examine the tankers’ routes, any differences from declared destinations and the reasons for them.
In July and August, more than 176,000 tonnes of fuel, mostly diesel, were loaded at several South Korean ports onto seven tankers that made 14 voyages to Russia’s far east. Three vessels were under UK and European Union sanctions, and one received about 26,000 tonnes in a ship-to-ship transfer near Yeosu.
The three sanctioned tankers told South Korean authorities they were bound for Japan or Singapore before sailing to Vladivostok. The Russian-flagged Aram Khachaturian, which is not under Western sanctions, loaded at Ulsan three times during the two months and each time listed a destination other than Russia before sailing there.
The shipments came as Russia’s refining capacity was disrupted by Ukrainian drone strikes. Refinery throughput fell in June to its lowest level in more than 20 years, while diesel output was nearly 30% below the previous year.
Ukraine raised the shipments with Seoul through closed diplomatic channels and requested an explanation, while its foreign ministry said it had its own data on the activity. An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the trade sharply inconsistent with South Korea’s sanctions policies; Seoul rejected that characterization and asked Ukraine to avoid public comments it said could harm the country’s international credibility.
The dispute has added strain to relations between Seoul and Kyiv. South Korea decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine after the exchange, while its legal position remains tied to the outcome of the review of the cargoes and their declared routes.