German customs seize vessel carrying banned Russian birch plywood heading for USA

Customs authorities in Germany have seized a vessel carrying some €40 million worth of Russian birch plywood bound for the United States, after the ship was forced to dock at a German port for emergency repairs, according to an investigation by a UK-based environmental NGO, Earthsight. The European Union and United Kingdom have banned imports of Russian timber as part of their respective sanctions measures, although the United States has not imposed a ban. Earthsight says the 23,000-tonne Atlantic Navigator II was en-route from St Petersburg in Russia to the US east coast when ...