Foreign vessels must obtain permission from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to access the country’s ports, according to a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The decree states that entry permits from port authorities for foreign vessels must be coordinated with the FSB, which is the main successor to the Soviet KGB. The new measures came into force on July 22 immediately after the decree’s publication.
Previously, entry regulations were determined by the Ministry of Transport, and special procedures were handled on-site at ports adjacent to naval bases, reports the state news agency TASS.
The wording of the new decree makes clear that it applies to all ports. It does not specify the reasons for this change.
Russian vessels and those of the “shadow fleet” used by Moscow to bypass sanctions are closely scrutinized by the West. The European Union last week lowered the price cap on Russian oil sales to limit Russia’s revenue from these sales, while President Trump threatened additional sanctions on buyers of Russian petroleum products unless Russia agrees to end the war in Ukraine.
Source: APE-MPE
