E.U. Prohibitions against Russian Ships and Cargoes

On 1 March 2022 the EU Parliament adopted a resolution which, if/when implemented by EU Member States, will likely have significant impact on shipping activities involving Russian vessels and the carriage of cargoes with a Russian nexus. The Resolution is not immediately binding but it is expected that the appropriate regulations will be adopted and become effective very shortly.

Of particular relevance to shipping are restrictions against:

• the import into the EU of the most important Russian export goods, including oil and gas
• access for Russian banks to the European financial system
• access for the Russian Federation and Belarus to the SWIFT system
• EU public procurement in relation to the purchase of goods and services originating from Russia and Belarus
• export of any high-tech products and strategic goods to the Russian market
• access to EU ports for Russian ships
• access to EU ports for ships whose last or next port of call is in the Russian Federation, except in the case of necessary justified humanitarian reasons.