A Russian cargo ship was anchored in the waters of Askeaton, Co Limerick, on Wednesday, waiting to receive a load of alumina from the Aughinish Alumina refinery.
The refinery is run by a firm linked to Russian billionaire, Oleg Deripaska, who is reported to have close ties with the Kremlin.
Uncertainty surrounds the fate of Russian tankers in waters surrounding Ireland and Britain after the UK government announced a ban on all Russian ships following the invasion of Ukraine. However, Russian ships entering the deep water Shannon estuary have so far sailed beyond these sanctions.
The Pola Feodosia cargo ship, whose home port is St Petersburg, anchored off the Aughinish Alumina plant on the Shannon Estuary at 5.50am on Wednesday, having travelled via Germany, Latvia, and Waterford Port.
A reliable source said the Russian Government Transport Leasing-owned 6,266 gross tonnage cargo vessel would likely be anchored in the estuary for at least another day before taking receipt of alumina.
“These ships have a couple of different plants that they go to, France, Iceland, etc. Tt really depends on who needs it, and not all the Russian ships go back to Russia.”
The Pola Feodosia was routinely waiting in the estuary as a number of other ships used the Aughnish dock.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar informed management at the Limerick refinery last week that the Government wanted it to continue operating as normal in order to protect 450 jobs at the plant.
Local politicians have said it is imperative Aughinish is not included in any further European economic sanctions on Russia or its owned exports.
Mr Deripaska - who has previously faced US sanctions - is a major shareholder in London-listed En+, which owns Aughinish’s parent company, Rusal.
Over recent days, Mr Deripaska has appeared at odds with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when he announced to his 71,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app that “peace is very important” and “negotiations need to start as soon as possible”.
In response to the matter, a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “EU sanctions, including trade sanctions, are an element of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and therefore Ireland does not adopt unilateral sanctions.
“The EU has not adopted or announced any restrictions on the export of aluminium to Russia.”
