From 16 April, vessels sailing under the Russian flag will be denied acces to EU ports. It is one of the new sanctions the EU announced after pictures from Bucha emerged. The UK already bans Russian ships from its ports.
The ban excludes ships carrying agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid, and energy. The ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp said last week they were waiting for guidelines from the relevant authorities on how to deal with Russian ships. The Port of Amsterdam has said it will ban Russian ships from 14 April.
In addition to banning Russian ships, there will be a prohibition to purchase, import or transfer coal and other solid fossil fuels into the EU if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia, as from August 2022. Imports of coal into the EU are currently worth EUR 8 billion per year.
Also read: How the Port of Rotterdam is impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Other sanctions
The other sanctions imposed are:
- A ban on any Russian and Belarusian road transport undertaking preventing them from transporting goods by road within the EU, including in transit. Derogations are nonetheless granted for a number of products, such as pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural and food products, including wheat, and for road transport for humanitarian purposes.
- Further export bans, targeting jet fuel and other goods such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, high-end electronics, software, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment, and new import bans on products such as: wood, cement, fertilisers, seafood and liquor.
- A series of targeted economic measures intended to strengthen existing measures and close loopholes, such as: a general EU ban on participation of Russian companies in public procurement in member states, the exclusion of all financial support to Russian public bodies, and an extended prohibition on deposits to crypto-wallets.
Also read: NMT concerned about consequences of war in Ukraine for Dutch maritime industry
