According to representatives of sea ports, the ban for Russian ships to enter sea ports of the European Union will not have much of an impact on Riga and Liepaja.
Freeport of Riga public relations officer Liene Ozola mentioned that ships sailing under the Russian flag have never accounted for a significant portion of freight or number of ships entering the port. This means the decision to ban ships sailing under the flag of the Russian Federation from entering European sea ports will not have a major impact on Riga sea port’s operations.
She said that according to data compiled by the Freeport of Riga authority for 2021, a total of 77 ships sailing under the Russian flag entered the port that year. This is almost 3% of 2 870 ships that entered the sea port in 2021. Of those ships 68 were dry cargo ships and nine – tanker ships.
Ozola mentioned that in previous years the percentage of Russian ships entering the port of Riga was similar.
She also mentioned that ships sailing under the Russian flag generally carry different bulk cargo (agricultural freight, wood chips and others), as well as oil products. Russian ships generally carried chemical bulk cargo, peat, lumber, linen seeds and other freight.
Most of the Russian ships serviced at the sea port were small vessels. Those ships generally cruise in the Baltic Sea and Nordic Sea region, explained Ozola.
At the same time, she mentioned that this decision will force ships and their owners to change flags. It may also increase the costs of this segment, because fewer ships will be available on the market. However, this will not apply specifically to Riga sea port.
Liepaja Special Economic Zone (SEZ) representative Līga Ratniece-Kadeģe reports ships sailing under Russian flag have never dominated the sea port. This means the aforementioned decision will not have a major impact on the sea port’s operations and freight turnover.
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Ratniece-Kadeģe stressed that Liepaja SEZ authority carefully complies with and follows updates on sanctions and works in accordance with Liepaja SEZ authority’s Sanction Risk Management procedures and methodology for the risk analysis of ships and shipping companies/owners. This means that after receiving a request from a ship to enter Liepaja sea port, information about the ship, its operator and owners undergoes careful evaluation.
The sanctions imposed by the EU, which prohibit ships sailing under the Russian flag, are a decision that will be strictly complied with, said Ratniece-Kadeģe.
She also said in Q1 2022 freight turnover at Liepaja sea port was 2.045 million tonnes, which is significantly more when compared to the first three months of 2021.
Additionally, Ratniece-Kadeģe stressed that since the 90s of the previous century Liepaja sea port has carefully worked on attracting domestic freight and linking operations with city infrastructure. More than 55% of freight handled by Liepaja sea port are domestic freight.
As previously reported, Freeport of Ventspils authority representative Inga Ieviņa said ships sailing under Russian flag do not often come to Ventspils. According to available information, a mere six such ships entered the sea port last year.
As for Russian and Belarusian freight, Ieviņa said the authority of the freeport has no specific information about the volume of freight sanctions apply to, adding that the sea port will definitely comply with all restrictions.
She also referenced what the Minister of Transport previously said – that in the worst case scenario the volume of freight in Ventspils may decrease by two-thirds.
She also stressed it’s impossible to predict any specific level of influence at this time.
On Friday, 8 April, the EU adopted new sanctions against Russia and Belarus. These sanctions prohibit road transport companies from those countries to enter EU member states. Sanctions also ban ships sailing under the flag of the Russian Federation from entering EU sea ports.
Russian and Belarusian road transport companies are not allowed to provide services, transit included, within the EU. In addition, sanctions provide import restrictions for different goods exported from Russia, including coal and other solid fossil fuels.
Latvia and its neighbouring countries are one of the groups that initiated this package of sanctions. Latvian Minister of Transport Tālis Linkaits said he is happy EU member states have managed to agree, stressing that Latvia is prepared to adopt sanctions immediately and introduce restrictions on freight transports from Russia and Belarus by land and sea, as well as shut Latvian sea ports for Russian ships.
Sea ports: ban for Russian ships to enter EU ports will not impact Riga or Liepaja much
