Latest news with #PetertheGreat
Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Ship banned from Aberdeen for Tall Ships Race due to Russian sanctions
Sign up for the daily Trending Today. Get the stories the internet is talking about to your inbox. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A ship on route to the Tall Ships Race 2025 in Aberdeen has been banned from entering the city's port due to sanctions against Russian vessels in British waters. The TS Shtandart, a replica of an 18th Century flagship of Peter the Great, has been denied entry to Aberdeen Port due to 'current national and international legislation'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Russian ships are included in UK sanctions to add pressure on Russia to cease actions in Ukraine. More than 50 Tall Ships from around the world are due to arrive in Aberdeen on Friday after racing from Dunkirk. On Tuesday, the Shtandart anchored north of the Summer Isles on the west coast after it was confirmed the ship could not enter Aberdeen. READ MORE: Red Arrows to perform over Aberdeen during Tall Ships Races 2025 Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The ship's captain Vladimir Martus claimed it had been a 'very horrible surprise' to learn he could not enter the North East port. 'This ship is now being treated as suspect - based solely on assumptions,' he added. Mr Martus said the only connection that he had to Russia was he was born there and that the ship was modelled on a Russian vessel built in the early 1700s. He said he was a tax resident of Germany and that his father was Ukrainian. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The captain added he had not been in Russia in over a decade and that he had never supported the war in Ukraine. Mr Martus claimed the ship did not fall under sanctions as it was a training vessel which was traditionally built - and no longer sailed under the Russian flag. READ MORE: Deacon Blue and Kaiser Chiefs to headline at Tall Ships Races At present, 22 crew members - aged between 18 and 70 - from 13 countries are on board as it sits off the west coast. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Shtandart has sailed across Europe since 1999, providing training for young sailors and taking part in maritime festivals, including previous Tall Ship Races. Mr Martus said the decision stranded young trainees and raised 'serious concerns' about the 'misuse of sanctions, the spirit of international cooperation, and the future of sail training in Europe'. The ship started sailing under the Cook Islands colours in June 2024 following advice from French authorities that the Shtandart could enter its ports as long as it no longer sailed under the Russian flag, Mr Martus said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A statement from Sail Training International, the organisers of the Tall Ships Race 2025, said: 'Sail Training International confirms that it received communications from the Ports of Aberdeen, Kristiansand and Esbjerg informing us that Shtandart was denied entry into their Ports, due to current national and international legislation. 'As a result of this, Sail Training International regrettably cancelled her participation in The Tall Ships Races 2025. 'Shtandart had originally entered to take part in Race 3 of The Tall Ships Races between Kristiansand and Esbjerg. 'Despite earlier agreement to allow the ship's participation, Kristiansand and Esbjerg's Port Authorities have subsequently confirmed that, in line with current legislation, the ship's entry is denied. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Aberdeen was not a confirmed stop for the ship and Shtandart's captain, Vladimir Martus, was fully aware of the situation.' A spokesman for Port of Aberdeen said: 'Russian vessels are generally prohibited from entering UK ports due to sanctions imposed in response to the conflict in Ukraine. These sanctions, implemented under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022, prevent ships owned, controlled, chartered, or operated by designated persons, those connected with Russia, or those flying the Russian flag or registered in Russia, from accessing UK ports.
Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Ship banned from Aberdeen for Tall Ships Race due to Russian sanctions
Sign up for the daily Trending Today. Get the stories the internet is talking about to your inbox. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A ship on route to the Tall Ships Race 2025 in Aberdeen has been banned from entering the city's port due to sanctions against Russian vessels in British waters. The TS Shtandart, a replica of an 18th Century flagship of Peter the Great, has been denied entry to Aberdeen Port due to 'current national and international legislation'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Russian ships are included in UK sanctions to add pressure on Russia to cease actions in Ukraine. More than 50 Tall Ships from around the world are due to arrive in Aberdeen on Friday after racing from Dunkirk. On Tuesday, the Shtandart anchored north of the Summer Isles on the west coast after it was confirmed the ship could not enter Aberdeen. READ MORE: Red Arrows to perform over Aberdeen during Tall Ships Races 2025 Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The ship's captain Vladimir Martus claimed it had been a 'very horrible surprise' to learn he could not enter the North East port. 'This ship is now being treated as suspect - based solely on assumptions,' he added. Mr Martus said the only connection that he had to Russia was he was born there and that the ship was modelled on a Russian vessel built in the early 1700s. He said he was a tax resident of Germany and that his father was Ukrainian. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The captain added he had not been in Russia in over a decade and that he had never supported the war in Ukraine. Mr Martus claimed the ship did not fall under sanctions as it was a training vessel which was traditionally built - and no longer sailed under the Russian flag. READ MORE: Deacon Blue and Kaiser Chiefs to headline at Tall Ships Races At present, 22 crew members - aged between 18 and 70 - from 13 countries are on board as it sits off the west coast. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Shtandart has sailed across Europe since 1999, providing training for young sailors and taking part in maritime festivals, including previous Tall Ship Races. Mr Martus said the decision stranded young trainees and raised 'serious concerns' about the 'misuse of sanctions, the spirit of international cooperation, and the future of sail training in Europe'. The ship started sailing under the Cook Islands colours in June 2024 following advice from French authorities that the Shtandart could enter its ports as long as it no longer sailed under the Russian flag, Mr Martus said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A statement from Sail Training International, the organisers of the Tall Ships Race 2025, said: 'Sail Training International confirms that it received communications from the Ports of Aberdeen, Kristiansand and Esbjerg informing us that Shtandart was denied entry into their Ports, due to current national and international legislation. 'As a result of this, Sail Training International regrettably cancelled her participation in The Tall Ships Races 2025. 'Shtandart had originally entered to take part in Race 3 of The Tall Ships Races between Kristiansand and Esbjerg. 'Despite earlier agreement to allow the ship's participation, Kristiansand and Esbjerg's Port Authorities have subsequently confirmed that, in line with current legislation, the ship's entry is denied. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Aberdeen was not a confirmed stop for the ship and Shtandart's captain, Vladimir Martus, was fully aware of the situation.' A spokesman for Port of Aberdeen said: 'Russian vessels are generally prohibited from entering UK ports due to sanctions imposed in response to the conflict in Ukraine. These sanctions, implemented under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022, prevent ships owned, controlled, chartered, or operated by designated persons, those connected with Russia, or those flying the Russian flag or registered in Russia, from accessing UK ports.
Spectator
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Spectator Competition: Between the lines
For Competition 3407 you were invited to write about a historical event euphemistic-ally. This challenge was a little vague; Private Eye code was the inspiration but from the tone of the entries it could have been 1066 and All That. The standard was very high, with too many runners-up to name names, and the £25 vouchers go to the following. Life grew rather complex in 1789 when France experienced a regime malfunction. The financially embarrassed commoners, who kept popping their clogs due to nutrition deficiency, took against royals and aristocrats who did not rate highly on political awareness. Paying an unscheduled visit to the Bastille, the monarchy-resistant mob significantly devalued it as a property. Aristocrats decamped from Versailles like small, furry rodents making their way from a foundering vessel, while the royal family, not being the sharpest pencils in the box, were left without a steering mechanism on a waterway formed mostly of sewage. In the ensuing unrest around Paris, many of the upwardly mobile population were considerably downsized by the more republic-minded. Going against conventional wisdom, the royals left it too late to strategically retreat and were forced to cash in their chips with a trip to the rapid disposal unit that made them shorter by a head. Janine Beacham The court of Peter the Great was notable for how Badered everyone, including the Tsar, was, and for his retinue of vertically challenged persons, though Peter himself was something of a ceiling scraper. There was even an official court personage of restricted growth named Iakim Volkov who found himself subject to a spectacular nuptial splicing at the iron whim of his Tsar. All pocket-sized Muscovites were seconded to Saint Petersburg to witness this happy event. These miniatures, having grown up in modest circumstances and consequently unaccustomed to fine dining, became tired and emotional upon becoming squiffy on the abundantly available enlivening beverages. Thereupon finding that they had various artistic differences, these space-efficient individuals sought to resolve them through a frank exchange of views. Unless historians have been economical with the truth, Peter the Great reacted to the resultant fracas by splitting his sides, always relishing a zany antic. Adrian Fry The Early Retirement of William Wallace, 1305 As part of the retirement festivities, Mr Wallace, fashionably undressed, was urged to take an equine Uber to Smithfield, while the public offered loud tributes. Upon arrival, he was granted a performance review – at altitude – then carefully brought back down to receive his enhanced dismemberment package. In a gesture of administrative thoroughness, select personal assets were publicly decommissioned with fire. His abdominal storage was cleared in accordance with Crown compliance standards, contents displayed for transparency. Mr Wallace was subsequently divided into four travel-friendly portions and repurposed as inspirational installations in Newcastle, Berwick, Perth and Stirling. His head was preserved using traditional tar-based methods and promoted to a pointed post on London Bridge in line with the Crown's redeployment policy regarding retired officials. Although Hollywood would later assign him an exclamatory farewell, contemporary sources suggest a quieter, more contemplative tone in his exit statement. Ralph Goldswain Julius Caesar was a nice-ish man, but sometimes prone to doing the full Tarquin Superbus, and a bit too Julian Clary with local soothsayers. They told him to take a half-holiday somewhere like Capri, and pronto monto. 'You're a bit light of future plans,' they told him. 'You'd be better off a bit more procul hinc, and a bit less usque ad finem.' But Caesar was quietly MRGA, and even more Veritas Social – neglecting to imagine that the senators might well have raided their cutlery drawers for something that could take a quick route to the giblet aisle. They unfriended him, all 60 of them, with some searching internal investigations, ones that left him leaking badly next to Pompey's statue. They put the ruby into Rubicon, leaving Brutus, who gave three-way swivels a run for their silver denarii, to spend less time with his family. Bill Greenwell Paris, 1151. Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy, visits the court of much-loved Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is their first meeting, but they soon become close friends. Eleanor is no stranger to the entente cordiale, having already forged rapprochements with Geoffrey of Anjou, Raymond of Poitiers and Marcabru the troubadour, becoming his Muse and the subject of his most celebrated Lays. Entering into top-level negotiations, Henry is curious to learn about the courtly customs of Eleanor's native Aquitaine. She is happy to oblige, introducing him to the traditional technique of gentle grape-pressing. Henry imagines vineyards, corks popping along the Gironde Estuary, surf crashing in the Bay of Biscay. He chivalrously offers to show Eleanor his Norman cider press, and to take her up the Seine Valley. That night, during their detailed strategic summit, she encourages him to extend his increasingly substantial realm across the Channel. She is thinking of England. David Silverman The Third Crusade was one of a series of cultural exchange schemes – the Islamic equivalent was the jihad – in which westerners and those from the Middle East lived in each other's countries for extended periods. Richard the Lionheart, a contact sports enthusiastic with an impressive record of wins when playing away from home, was a keen participant. His return trip was disrupted by hidden surcharges and he went dark until he retweeted a post from Blondel, a lounge singer passing through on a European tour; eventually Richard's exit visa had to be crowdfunded. A believer in hands-off government, he nevertheless intervened on behalf of the Midlands Levelling Up Czar, Robin Hood, on his return, and latterly pursued a redistributive agenda in France where he developed many gated communities. He was eventually skewered by pointed local opposition to a repossession, and retired hurt. His brother, John, proved to be a poor substitute. Nick Syrett No. 3410: All grown up You are invited to submit passages or poems about celebrated characters from children's books in adult life (150 words/16 lines maximum). Please email entries to competition@ by midday on 23 July.
The Journal
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Controversial 'Russian' replica sailing ship leaves Irish waters (but not before garda visit)
A CONTROVERSIAL SAILING ship claimed to be a sanctioned vessel was visited by gardaí early this morning when it made an unscheduled stop in County Louth. The Shtandart is a replica of a ship built in 1703 by Peter the Great, a Russian Tsar – was visible at anchor off the village of Killiney in south County Dublin until she departed yesterday evening. It was built in 1999 and sails under the flag of the Cook Islands since changing its registration from Russia in June 2024. The ship's captain has criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine but Ukrainian campaigners in Ireland have claimed it is a Russian operated sail training vessel. The vessel, according to AIS data, made her way up the east coast and in the early hours of this morning she stopped for around four hours at Clogherhead in Co Louth. Multiple sources have said the Shtandart was visited by gardaí during the stop off which happened between 1.30am until about 5.30am. It is understood that sailors on the vessel told gardaí that they were taking on an emergency water supply. The vessel then left and is currently off the Northern Ireland coast and has set her destination on ship tracking device as Aberdeen. Advertisement Over recent days the Naval Service had hailed the vessel and asked it about it's intentions. Russian ships are banned from entering European ports due to EU sanctions that were imposed shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine – in the case of the Shtandart she is impacted as she sailed under a Russian flag at the time of the invasion. The sailing vessel has no permission to land in Ireland. Thomas Byrne, who is Minister for State at the Departments of the Taoiseach, Defence and Foreign Affairs, confirmed that the ship did not receive permissions to berth in Ireland. He said that the restrictions on the vessels are under EU measures and that the vessel has not applied for any derogations to permit it access to Ireland. The Minister said that Harbour Masters have been alerted to the restrictions on the Shtandart. 'Apparently, this vessel has gone to Clogherhead. It hasn't received any permission to enter Clogherhead port. 'It left Irish waters, we think this morning, and we're looking for a report from Louth County Council on this matter. 'I can't say specifically in respect to that vessel, but on other occasions we've seen hybrid measures by Russia involving this type of activity, designed to confuse, designed to, in some cases, cause chaos, but usually designed to confuse or to upset the local system and to annoy,' he said. A statement from the Department of Transport said: 'The Coast Guard, through routine remote monitoring, observed the progress of an alleged sanctioned Russian vessel through the Irish waters. When it appeared that the vessel had entered Port Oriel, Co. Louth, the Coast Guard informed An Garda Síochána and other relevant agencies.' Statement have been requested from An Garda Síochána and the Shtandart. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Shtandart ship leaves Irish waters after gardaí and coastguard attend Clogherhead pier
The Shtandart, an exact copy of a ship built by Peter the Great of Russia in 1703, was attended by both gardaí and the coastguard when she docked at the Louth port to replenish at 2am. She left three hours later, at 5am, and has departed the European economic zone (EEZ) for British waters. The Shtandart was both shadowed and monitored throughout by the new Irish inshore naval ship, LE Aoibhinn, on one of her first patrols since being acquired from the New Zealand navy and recommissioned. A Defence Forces press officer said in response to the Irish Independent queries: "As part of Maritime Defence and Security Operations (MDSO) the Defence Forces monitors maritime traffic within the Irish EEZ as a matter of routine." The Captain of the replica said on the Claire Byrne radio programme yesterday that he was pro-Ukraine, and that the vessel was an active sail training ship under the flag of the Cook Islands. It is understood that it had previously been under the Russian flag -- and could have been seized under Western sanctions following the Ukraine invasion. Dún Laoghaire TD Barry Ward had called for the removal of the vessel, which invited comparisons to "The Pirates of the Caribbean" when anchored this week in Killiney Bay. He said all Russian ships are banned from entering EU ports due to sanctions "put in place in reaction to the appalling atrocities carried out by Vladimir Putin and his administration'. "If we are to be serious about their implementation, we must adhere to them," he added. The Shtandart was built in 1999 and in recent weeks banned from entering a number of French ports including Saint-Malo. ADVERTISEMENT "While the Shtandart operates under a Cook Islands flag, this has only been the case since June 2024 and previously sailed under a Russian flag," Mr Ward said. "European Union sanctions introduced a port ban on Russia-flagged vessels, and those reflagged after the invasion of Ukraine, in April 2022. No Irish officers boarded the Shtandart during the three hours she was in Clogherhead, but State vehicles and personnel were on the pierhead. 'While this boat is allowed to transition through Irish waters, there is a legal grey area. This ship has a history of declaring false emergencies in order to gain extended access to European ports," Mr Ward claimed. 'The European commission has specifically clarified that this vessel falls under the scope of the sanctions and these sanctions must be upheld." Ukrainian Action in Ireland, an Irish charity working with the Ukrainian community in Ireland, issued a letter to Irish maritime authorities requesting that they "deny entry to Irish ports to the Shtandart". "We don't want that ship to be welcomed here," explained Anatoliy Prymakov from Ukrainian Action in Ireland. "We want them to know that Ireland stands with Ukraine. We want them to know you can only parade your ship around Europe once Russia has ceased its war on Ukraine. The ship is a facade for a bloody regime." The ship's captain, Vladimir Martus, told RTÉ News that it was sailing to Aberdeen with 22 people from 12 nations on board. He said criticism of the ship was "unjust and unfair". "We are against what Putin is doing and nobody on this ship has ever expressed support for Russia," he said. "The Shtandart is simply a replica vessel. We are not a Russian vessel. Shtandart is, and always has been, dedicated to education, heritage, and human connection. "We are a homeless child in European waters, and we are fighting for survival," he told RTÉ.
