British manufacturers have continued to supply Russia with key industrial equipment important for the country’s fossil fuel and mining industries despite the invasion of Ukraine.
Trade data obtained by B4Ukraine and analyzed by The Times and the investigative group Data Desk reveals that one of Hill & Smith PLC’s Indian subsidiaries has been continuing to supply pipe supports — equipment used to hold up gas pipelines — to the Russian company Arctic LNG 2 LCC.
Dunlop Oil & Marine Ltd. has been supplying rubber oil hoses to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Major shareholders in the consortium include the Russian energy firms LUKOIL and Transneft, alongside the US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil. Dunlop is owned by Continental, a German multinational automotive parts manufacturer.
Another supplier highlighted by the data is ION Science Ltd. The company has been shipping “electronic devices for use in the metallurgical industry” to Russia, via Malta.
A spokesman for Continental said that as of May this year it has divested the majority of its activities in Russia, but in one case the manufacturer had to fulfil an existing customer contract that at the time of its fulfilment complied with all applicable sanctions and legal provisions. It added that the company is not currently exporting any of its products to customers in Russia nor importing products from Russia.
A spokesman for Hill & Smith said that it and its subsidiaries have never directly traded with Novatek or had operations of any kind in Russia, and that the group has no direct exposure to customers in Russia and negligible indirect exposure. The company did not provide an on the record comment on the trading relationship between Bergen Pipe Supports (India) Private Limited and Arctic LNG 2.
Ion Science was approached for comment. The Department for Business and Trade said it had significantly reduced UK goods being exported to Russia.