The government has also approved rules for underwater hull inspection
The Russian government has approved the “Rules for coordinating entry permits for vessels arriving from foreign ports and calling seaports of the Russian Federation with an official of the Federal Security Service” and the “Rules for inspecting the underwater section of vessels arriving at seaports of the Russian Federation.”
Both documents were developed to implement Decree No. 502 of the President of the Russian Federation (July 21, 2025) “On the specifics of vessel entry into seaports of the Russian Federation.” Previously the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) has been instructed to determine officials authorized to approve permits for port calls.
According to the first document, the harbourmaster must inform the FSB official of the vessel’s scheduled call no later than one hour after receiving such notification directly from the vessel’s master or from a maritime agent. The master must include information on the last ten ports visited by the vessel.
The FSB official must, within 48 hours, decide whether to approve or deny the vessel’s entry and, if necessary, conduct an underwater inspection of the vessel.
“The FSB official shall inform the harbourmaster of the decision within one hour of its receipt via email (or by phone) agreed upon with the harbourmaster,” the document states.
If the underwater hull has been inspected, the document must be forwarded to the FSB official within three hours of receiving the inspection report to obtain permission to enter the port.
If a vessel’s entry is approved by an FSB official, the harbourmaster includes the vessel in the daily docking and movement schedule. If a ship was refused to enter, the harbourmaster notifies the vessel’s master or maritime agent 24 hours before the vessel’s scheduled arrival.
The second document said that inspections will be conducted for vessels traveling from foreign ports through the territorial waters of foreign states with a stopover in their seaports, if such a decision is made by an FSB official. These rules also apply to vessels making an emergency call at Russian seaports.
Transport infrastructure entity (operator) accepting the vessel at the seaport for port operations is responsible to carry out the underwater hull inspection. The operator has the right to charge a fee for the inspection from the transport infrastructure entity or carrier operating the vessels.
“The inspection fee is calculated based on the need to compensate the operator for the justified costs of conducting the inspection,” the document states.
The inspection is carried out before the vessel arrival either by the operator or by a third-party organization using divers or technical equipment. The operator must agree with the harbourmaster and the shipowner on the location and time of the inspection, as well as provide information on the specialists participating in the inspection, the nature and scope of the work, and information on the vessel involved.
All this information must be forwarded by the harbourmaster to an FSB official no later than six hours prior to the inspection.
Based on the inspection results, the official will draw up a report.
The document must include the following information:
1) date, place, and time of the inspection report, start and end times of the inspection;
2) duration of the inspection, indicating the method used to collect information and the estimated time spent;
3) full name of the master of the vessel undergoing inspection;
4) information about the shipowner and the vessel being inspected;
5) the area of the inspected underwater part of the vessel, with an attached inspection flow chart containing data on the tacks, speed, and distance from which the inspection was carried out for all structural elements of the underwater hull;
6) information about the methods of inspecting the underwater hull used during the inspection, the equipment used, and its technical specifications;
7) information about the absence of suspicious objects /or explosive devices (explosives) on the vessel (provided by the master of the vessel being inspected);
8) information about the results of the inspection, including the absence or presence of suspicious objects /or explosive devices (explosives);
9) Photo and video
The operator submits the inspection report to the harbourmaster within three hours of its preparation or receipt from the person conducting the inspection. If the inspection report contains information confirming the absence of suspicious objects or explosive devices on the vessel, the harbourmaster forwards the inspection report to an official of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
If suspicious objects or explosive devices are discovered, the person conducting the inspection immediately terminates the operation, notifies the ship master, the harbourmaster, and the operator, and includes the relevant information in the report. The harbourmaster, in turn, acts in accordance with the port basin transport security plan and takes into account information from military units of the Russian Armed Forces and FSB agencies regarding the measures required until disposal of the suspicious objects.
Further inspection of the vessel and disposal / removal of suspicious objects or explosive devices are carried out by military units of the Russian Armed Forces and FSB agencies.
