UK bans all ships with Russian links from British ports

LONDON (AP) — Britain has banned any ship with Russian connections from entering its ports as part of efforts to isolate President Vladimir Putin’s government because of its war in Ukraine. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Tuesday announced “a total ban of all ships with any Russian connection whatsoever from entering British ports.” In a tweet, he encouraged other countries to do the same with their ports. Scotland’s first minister had urged Shapps to block a Russian tanker from docking in the Orkney Islands, where the ship was due to arrive Tuesday. The NS Champion is owned by Sovcomflot, a Russian state-owned company that specializes in the transportation of oil, oil products and liquefied natural gas.