MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. The imposition of sanctions against Russian shipping companies and designation of vessels carrying Russian hydrocarbons as the country’s shadow fleet violate international law, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"Russian shipping companies being put on sanctions lists, the ban on port entry for Russian-flagged vessels, and the designation of foreign-flagged vessels transporting Russian hydrocarbons as a shadow fleet - all of this violates international law and, in particular, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," she told a briefing.
The West is "actively trying to reshape the legal framework to suit its own needs to untie the hands of its security forces," Zakharova said. "A number of countries with unfriendly regimes, Estonia, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands in particular, are drafting bills and passing laws to expand the powers of competent authorities to ensure maritime safety. In fact, such moves are aimed at unlawfully restricting the freedom of navigation from the viewpoint of international law," she said.