Grace Kay
Wed, March 9, 2022
Kayakers pass Seattle's container port.
Russia's prime minister said nations that ban Russian ships from their ports could face retaliation.
Mikhail Mishustin said this while discussing steps Russia was taking to protect its economy.
Last week, the UK banned all Russian-flagged ships from calling on its ports.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday that the government plans to retaliate against the countries that ban Russian ships from entering their ports.
Mishustin threatened to retaliate against the nations barring Russian ships during a governmental meeting, in which the prime minister revealed several steps Russia is taking to protect its domestic economy against international sanctions, Reuters reported.
Mishustin said the government is "closely monitoring" food prices, especially bread. On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order banning the export of some goods and raw materials.
"Sanctions-linked turbulence will end, sooner or later," Mishustin said, according to the publication.
The prime minister did not specify how the government would retaliate. Putin has said in the past that the West's support for Ukraine in the form of sanctions and providing supplies to Ukraine is "akin to declaring war."
Mishustin's statement comes as an estimated 60,000 Russian and Ukrainian sailors are stuck at ports, The Wall Street Journal reported. Because Russian ships are no longer allowed into several Western ports, the crew are left in limbo — unable to deliver or collect cargo. The Journal said many have been unable to secure travel home or collect payment due to sanctions.
Over 10% of the global shipping workforce comes from Russia — a factor that could cause further labor shortages at sea and supply-chain delays if Russian sailors are forced home.
The UK banned Russian ships from entering their ports last week. The EU and US are also reportedly considering a similar ban. On Tuesday, Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports.
Shipping companies have taken similar measures. Last week, the world's three largest shipping companies announced they would no longer call on Russian ports. The decision followed multiple reports of cargo ships off the coast of Ukraine being used as "human shields" for Russia's attack on Ukraine.
If sanctions on Russian ships continue, the country could find itself cut off from trade with much of the world outside of Asian shipping companies.
By Jonathan Saul
LONDON (Reuters) - A Russian-operated oil tanker that Britain turned away over a week ago has yet to find a port to discharge its cargo, and many other vessels are likely to be in the same position as buyers shun trade deals following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports and Britain announced soon after that it would phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.
The European Union has yet to provide clarity on the prospect of a similar ban by the bloc. The European Commission, the EU executive, has only said it would continue to work on further sanctions.
Britain on March 1 banned from its ports all ships that are Russian-owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged.
The situation is not clear-cut as Britain later said Russia could still send oil and gas to the country because the sanction targeted the vessel, not its cargo.
Dockers, however, refused to unload a tanker carrying Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) last week, forcing it to discharge in France.
Earlier on Feb. 28, the NS Champion, operated by Russian shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF), changed course and sailed away from Britain towards Denmark, ship-tracking data on Eikon showed.
The vessel last reported its position close to Denmark's coast on Wednesday with its status showing as underway using engine, tracking data showed.
SCF did not respond to a request for comment, and the ship's crew could not be reached.
Under Danish law, ports are obliged to receive vessels provided there is space and security considerations are met.
Danish authorities did immediately comment on whether they had been in contact with the NS Champion.
Up to 65 million barrels of Russian crude are estimated to be on board 90 tankers, which have yet to reach destinations, predictive maritime analytics company Windward said.
Seven of those vessels, with 5 million barrels of oil, were reporting their positions as headed to the United States, Windward added.
European Union countries are divided on whether to ban energy cargoes with a Russia footprint.
Other ships with Russian gas have been able to deliver their cargoes. Two LNG tankers have docked and discharged in ports in France and Belgium since March 5, analysis by data intelligence firm ICIS showed.
Denmark is pushing for the EU to take a common decision on excluding Russian vessels from ports in the bloc, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said in emailed comments to Reuters.
"It will naturally be a far-reaching decision that requires careful preparation. Therefore, it is not something you just do," he said.
SCF was among the Russian entities the U.S. Treasury restricted in February from raising capital in U.S. markets, which shipping sources say will complicate transactions for the Moscow-listed company.
Shipowners and operators were "struggling to keep up with the unfolding sanctions and are concerned that activities that are permitted today, will be banned tomorrow," said Alexander Brandt, a sanctions lawyer at law firm Reed Smith.
Significant numbers of Russian-linked tankers carrying crude oil and LNG call at UK ports each year as well as ships carrying steel and other goods, added Nick Austin, a shipping partner at Reed Smith.
"Those ships and cargoes will now have to go elsewhere, or more likely never leave Russia at all," Austin said.
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, additional reporting by Forrest Crellin in Paris and Nora Buli in Oslo; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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