Greece seizes Russian oil tanker; NZ imposes new curbs on Moscow

ATHENS/WELLINGTON • Greece has seized a Russian oil tanker off the island of Evia as part of European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, the Greek coast guard said yesterday.

Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from the bloc's ports, with some exemptions, as it adopted new sweeping sanctions against Russia.

The Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was seized near Karystos on the southern coast of Evia, which lies just off the Greek mainland near the capital Athens.

"It has been seized as part of EU sanctions," a shipping ministry official said.

A coast guard official said the ship's oil cargo had not been confiscated.

The Pegas had earlier reported an engine problem.

Rough seas forced it to moor just off Karystos where it was seized, the Athens News Agency reported.

Separately, New Zealand unveiled new sanctions yesterday targeting Russia's largest banks and financial institutions in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

"We are deeply concerned at the reports of brutality from Russian forces," Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement after the measures were announced.

She said the central bank and the sovereign wealth fund were among three core government financial bodies affected, as well as eight of Russia's largest banks and seven others with ties to oligarchs, the defence sector and the annexation of Crimea.

Elsewhere, the United States is seeking to seize a superyacht that is suspected of belonging to a Russian oligarch and is docked in the Pacific island nation of Fiji.

The luxury vessel, the Amadea, is widely believed to be owned by Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, who has been sanctioned by the US and EU.

The vessel arrived in Fiji a week ago after leaving Mexico 18 days earlier and crossing the Pacific. Police are investigating.

The authorities in various countries have confiscated luxury vessels and villas owned by Russian billionaires in response to sanctions imposed on Russia.

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Le Yucheng assured Russia's ambassador to China, Mr Andrey Denisov, on Monday that Beijing would continue to increase "strategic coordination" with Moscow regardless of international volatility.

Mr Le cited the almost 30 per cent increase in China-Russia trade in the first three months of this year as evidence of the "resilience and endogenous power" of both countries' cooperation, according to a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry statement yesterday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS