LAST UPDATE | 8 Jul 2025

Sailing ship The Shtandart opposite Dalkey Island this afternoon Eamonn Farrell / Rollingnews.ie Eamonn Farrell / Rollingnews.ie / Rollingnews.ie

THIS MORNING Irish authorities have officially contacted a controversial sail training vessel which is suspected of links to the Russian Government.

The Shtandart is a replica of a ship built in 1703 by Peter the Great, a Russian Tsar – she is currently visible at anchor off the village of Killiney in south County Dublin.

It was built in 1999 and sails under the flag of the Cook Islands but campaigners have claimed it is a Russian operated sail training vessel. 

It is understood that the Naval Service hailed the vessel this morning and asked what are its intentions. 

All Russian ships are banned from entering EU ports due to sanctions that were imposed on Russian vessels shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The vessel has no permission to land in Ireland.

Her destination, as entered on a ship tracking system, is listed as Dundee in Scotland – she has sailed up from France. 

8.7.2025 1:15pm
TS Shtandart 🇨🇰 | Hawk Cliff | Killiney Bay | Co.Dublin 🇮🇪.
• View from Vico Road, Dalkey.
• View from dlr Killiney Hill Park.@PhotosOfDublin pic.twitter.com/NoiPpKKQ9O

— Don Sheahan (@SheahanDon) July 8, 2025

Controversy

The presence of the vessel has caused some controversy and Fine Gael TD Barry Ward, who is from Dún Laoghaire, has called on the Minister Timmy Dooley, the Minister for State for the Marine, to intervene and have the ship removed. 

“These EU sanctions were put in place in reaction to the appalling atrocities carried out by Vladimir Putin and his administration and if we are to be serious about their implementation, we must adhere to them.

“In recent weeks, this ship was banned from entering a number of French ports including Saint-Malo, which will be familiar to many Irish holidaymakers. Going back further, there is an extensive list of European ports that have blocked or sought to block this vessel from entering their waters.

“The formal EU sanctions against Russia are clear and while the Shtandart operates under a Cook Islands flag, this has only been the case since June 2024 and previously sailed under a Russian flag. European Union sanctions introduced a port ban on Russia-flagged vessels, and those reflagged after the invasion of Ukraine, in April 2022,” he said. 

Ward said that the ship is permitted to transit through Irish waters but said there is a “legal grey area”.

“This ship has a history of declaring false emergencies in order to gain extended access to European ports.

“This includes medical emergency declarations (which would allow it to seek safe harbour) but this must not be allowed to happen in Dún Laoghaire or Dublin.

“The European commission has specifically clarified that this vessel falls under the scope of the sanctions and these sanctions must be upheld,” he added. 

Ward added that he has written to the Minister and said that the captain of the ship is showing “clear disregard for EU sanctions and this arrogance and perception of impunity cannot be permitted”.

Speaking to RTE News the Captain of the vessel Vladimir Martus said that the attention his ship was facing was “unfair”. 

 ”We are against what Putin is doing and nobody on this ship has ever expressed support for Russia.

“The Shtandart is simply a replica vessel. We are not a Russian vessel. Shtandart is, and always has been, dedicated to education, heritage, and human connection. We are a homeless child in European waters, and we are fighting for survival,” he told RTE.

State response

A statement a spokesperson for the Department of Transport confirmed it was monitoring the ship “on an administrative basis” to ensure it is in compliance with EU’s “restrictive measures against Russia”.

“The Department is aware of the movements of the vessel known as Shtandart. It should be noted that the vessel has not entered a pre-arrival notice for entry into an Irish port which is required under EU regulations.

“From the information available to the Department through third party sources it is understood that the vessel was previous registered under the Russian flag and would fall under the restrictive measures.

“The Department of Transport has been in contact with ports under its remit on the east coast (Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort) to remind them of their responsibilities under EU Council Regulation 833/2014 and the prohibition on providing access to Russian registered vessels to Irish ports and locks.

“This prohibition also applies to vessels that have changed their flag or their registration from the Russian Federation to the flag or register of any other State after 24 February 2022,” the Statement said.