Recent advisories from the American P&I Club to its clients have warned that, amidst a raft of complications caused by ongoing maritime action in and around the Black Sea, foreign shipowners and charterers planning to call at Russian ports should brace for delays and obstacles to stringent regulations, as Moscow has introduced comprehensive new regime of entry regulations for foreign vessels.

According to an order that went into effect on November 25, each foreign-flagged vessel applying to enter a port must now obtain permission from the FSB, the Federal Security Service.

The port authorities must forward to the FSB within one hour the information on the 10 recent ports of call for that vessel, triggering a review procedure that could take up to 48 hours before any underwater inspection or other further inspections are conducted.

The process even longer if an inspection is required. A full approval cycle (excluding any underwater inspections) can now take up to 53 hours, according to the American P&I. This timeline also does not even take into account potential delays in anchorages, tug arrangements, or scheduling conflicts onshore.

Just weeks ago, Russia ordered all foreign-ged vessels entering its ports to undergo underwater inspections to sweep for mines and other suspicious devices. Under the new port entry regime, port operators may seek reimbursement from the shipowner for cost of inspection.

A new wave of attacks on vessels associated with Russia has led to a spike in insurance rates for ships trading in the Black Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin week warned that if such attacks on vessels, such as the Suezmax tanker “Kairos” (pictured above), continue to occur, Moscow may expand its measures. He suggested that retaliatory measures could target vessels from countries supporting Ukraine.