New sanctions agreed: coal ban, port closures to Russian ships

The sanctions come due to the killing of civilians in Botja, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where, according to the Ukrainian authorities, after the withdrawal of the Russian army, at least 320 people were executed and left on the street.

The European Union is once again selecting a package designed to further weaken Russia’s financial system. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the sanctions should increase pressure on that country and “go deeper into the Russian economy”. Below is a summary of the penalties:

Coal import ban

Russian coal imports stopped. From mid-August, EU member states will not be allowed to import Russian coal.

This should lead to the depletion of this trade, from which Russia earns about 4 billion euros annually.

port siege

In addition, all EU ports must ban entry to Russian ships. So this ban also applies to Dutch ports such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Exemptions apply if ships carry essential goods, such as food.

According to insiders, the daughters of President Vladimir Putin are also added to the European sanctions list. These sanctions and more will become public and effective as soon as they appear in the Official Journal of the European Union.

An average of 13 Russian ships per month to Rotterdam

Every month, an average of 13 Russian ships sail to the port of Rotterdam. In January and February there were a total of 29, according to the latest numbers. There is also a lot of freight traffic between the Russian ports and Rotterdam: about 110 ships arrive from Russia every month. On the contrary, about 90 ships leave for Russia every month.

In 2021, 1,275,000 TEUs were shipped between Rotterdam and Russia. A TEU means Twenty feet is equivalent, the standard size of a container, although double 40-foot containers are more commonly used today. 1,275,000 TEU is about 8 percent of the total container volume at the Port of Rotterdam.

Amsterdam: mainly cargo ships

In recent years, about 30 ships from Russia have docked in the port of Amsterdam. Almost all of these cargo ships are owned by Russian shipping companies that transport coal and steel.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, a ship carrying steel has so far docked in the capital, a port authority spokesperson told RTL Z. Coal production in Amsterdam in particular fell sharply last year due to the closure of coal plants. .