FEODOSIA,
Crimea (Reuters) - Two more gas turbines appear to have been delivered to
Russian-controlled Crimea, according to two Reuters reporters who saw the
equipment at the port of Feodosia, potentially deepening a row over sanctions
compliance in which Germany's Siemens has become embroiled.
Reuters has
no independent confirmation the equipment on the dock was Siemens-made
turbines. It comprised four cylindrical objects, several meters long, and
covered with blue and gray tarpaulins.
Their
dimensions and shape match publicly-available photographs of Siemens gas
turbine systems, which each consist of two major components: the turbine itself
and a generator.
Siemens said
earlier this week that at least two of a total of four turbines it sold to
Russian state firm Technopromexport had been delivered to Crimea against its
wishes and without its knowledge. Russia seized the region from Ukraine in 2014
and it is now subject to European sanctions on energy technology.
The German
company filed a lawsuit against Technopromexport in Moscow on Tuesday requiring
it to return the turbines to their original destination, Taman, Munich-based
spokesman Wolfram Trost said.
Taman, in
southern Russia, is not subject to sanctions.
On
Wednesday, Yashar Azad, a spokesman for Siemens at its Bavarian headquarters,
said the company was still trying to establish all the facts, including the
location of the two other turbines and had nothing to add to its previous
statements.
Technopromexport,
the Russian state company building the Crimean power plants, and Russia's
energy ministry, declined to comment.
Asked if the
pieces of equipment at the port were Siemens turbines, a government official in
Crimea told Reuters: "Come on, we can't talk about that. You understand:
sanctions, Siemens."
"Of
course, this whole story is going to come out, but let it come out without
us," said this source, who did not want to be identified because of the
sensitivity of the issue.
If the
equipment seen by Reuters reporters at the quayside in Feodosia are
Siemens-made, it would show that Russia is pressing ahead with its plan despite
the Siemens lawsuit and a warning this week from the German government that the
use of Siemens turbines in Crimea could harm future German investment in
Russia.
The turbines
affair has shone a harsh spotlight on how serious the European Union, its member
states, and European companies are about enforcing the sanctions, imposed on
Russia after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Siemens said
on Monday it did everything possible to ensure compliance with sanctions.
Special
Cargo
Russia needs
four turbines in total for new power stations on the Crimean peninsula, which
Ukraine cut from its electricity grid after it lost control, according to three
people close to the project who spoke to Reuters.
Two of the
turbines are for a power plant under construction in the city of Sevastopol,
and the other two for a plant being built in Simferopol, they said.
On Tuesday,
workers could be seen around the equipment at Feodosia port dressed in blue
uniforms. Reuters reporters had observed the same uniforms on workers at
Crimea's Simferopol and Sevastopol power stations, where, according to the
three sources, Siemens-made turbines are to be installed.
Armed men
stood at the entrance to the port and prevented the Reuters reporters from
entering.
On Wednesday
evening, a large convoy of police cars and jeeps arrived at the port and one of
the sets of equipment was then driven out under escort.
President
Vladimir Putin promised the region's residents last year that he would ensure a
stable power supply.
Siemens has
said the two turbines it has confirmed had been transferred to Crimea had been
among four sold to Technopromexport for use in a power plant in Taman. Taman is
on the Russian mainland 10 km (8 miles) east of Crimea across the Kerch Strait.
A source
close to the Crimea power plants project told Reuters last week, on condition
of anonymity, that the plan was to deliver the second set of two turbines
produced by Siemens to Feodosia port this month.
Reuters*
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