THE Tory government has been urged to act as a tanker owned by a Russian oil giant heads for Orkney.

The ship, the NS Champion, is due to dock at the Flotta oil terminal on March 1. It is owned by the Russian company Sovcomflot, one of the world’s largest petroleum shipping firms, which has been hit by US sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

However, the Tory government has not imposed any sanctions on the firm, which is owned by the Russian Government. The Foreign Office refused to comment on whether it could in future.

Angus Robertson, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs, told the BBC that the UK Government would have to act “decisively”.

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He said: "My understanding is that the vessel is covered by United States sanctions so the UK authorities have got a big decision to take, on whether we are going to allow Russian-owned or charted vessels to dock in UK ports.

"The Scottish Government is in discussions with the UK authorities about this particular case but there will be others.

"This is a very fast moving situation and we're going to have to act decisively in my view."

Attending a protest against the tanker’s docking, Nataliia Kuzmina, a Ukrainian living in Orkney, told the BBC she was disgusted.

"Every little thing matters now. Hundreds of people around Europe will do some small act like this, stopping buying Russian products, stopping tankers being filled up with oil,” she said.

"It matters and I feel it's my duty to turn away this tanker from Scapa Flow."

LibDem MP Alistair Carmichael said he had written to the Prime Minister about the issue.

In his letters, the MP for Orkney and Shetland said it was “imperative … that you should act without delay to ensure that Sovcomflot is sanctioned and denied access for their vessels to British ports”.

He went on: “Like right-thinking people across the United Kingdom, the people of Orkney have been sickened by what we have seen on our television screens of the Russian attack on Ukraine.

“We expect you, as our Prime Minister, to act to stop this continued trade that is earning money to fund the slaughter of Ukrainian citizens.”

Carmichael had also raised the issue of the NS Challenger, another Sovcomflot tanker, with the Prime Minister in the Commons.

Orkney Islands Council said it was powerless to prevent the NS Champion tanker accessing the Flotta terminal.