President Joe Biden has announced that the United States will ban all Russia-affiliated ships from entering US ports, joining Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada in the latest effort to put pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The change is expected to have an impact on 460 ships that trade on a global scale.
“I’m announcing that the US will ban Russian-affiliated ships from our ports as they did in Europe,’’ stated US President Joe Biden.
“That means no ship that sails under the Russian flag or that is owned or operated by a Russian entity, will be allowed to dock in United States ports or access our shores.”
According to reports, Russia-affiliated ships accounted for less than 3% of total traffic in US ports in 2021, implying that the ban would have little effect on the supply chain problems of the past year.
The Russian ship embargo triggered an administration investigation to guarantee that it would not have a significant impact on US supply chains.
The ban stated that no vessel registered, owned, or operated by a Russian citizen, permanent resident, or the Russian Federation would be allowed to enter the US, with the exception of vessels used in the transport of source material, special nuclear material, and nuclear byproduct material, or vessels requesting only to enter US ports due to force majeure.
Earlier this year, the United Kingdom, Canada, and several European nations banned Russian-owned ships from entering their ports and airspace, and there have been talks of phasing out oil and oil product imports by the end of 2022.
Oil traders and refineries have imposed prohibitions and self-sanctioning, reducing business for Russia’s fleet, despite vessel monitoring reports indicating that cargo volumes are unaffected since they are being rerouted to India and Asia.
