Tag: russia

We refer to our prior circulars regarding sanctions imposed on Russia pursuant to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

Over the weekend of 26-27 February, a large number of additional sanctions have been announced by EU, together with other members of the G7 in respect of the Russian Federation and Belarus.

The main updates are listed below:

• Asset freezes have been imposes in respect of foreign held assets of President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Further asset freezes and travel bans of Russian individuals linked to the Kremlin and Russian Parliament;
• EU, US, Finland and Canada have closed their airspace for Russian owned or Russian operated airplanes;
• Belarus officials have been added to the list of asset freezes and travel bans;
• EU has also announced additional restrictions on Belarus exports of tobacco, wood and timber, cement, iron and steel as well as on the export of dual use goods to Belarus.
• US, UK, Canada and EU have announced the exclusion of the SWIFT monetary system of the Russian Central Bank and the freezing of all of its foreign-held assets. Furthermore a number of Russian banks will be excluded from the SWIFT system and discussions are ongoing for a broader freeze on the use of the SWIFT system; and
• UK, US, EU and Canada have imposed additional sanctions against Russian banks and companies.

We reiterate our recommendation to ensure appropriate sanction checks are performed for any Russia related shipments, the Black Sea territories of Ukraine and Russia are avoided where possible. We expect that the sanctions relating to SWIFT payments will likely complicate operational matters such as port and agency expenses in Russia ports. Members should be aware that the same will most likely apply to payments to be made by their charterers or cargo interests in respect of Russian in- or outbound cargo.

Further updates will be published from time to time. Members are invited to contact us with any questions or concerns.

We refer to our prior circulars regarding sanctions imposed on Russia pursuant to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

We confirm the following updates:

US sanctions.

The US has announced sanctions against Russia’s two largest banks (Sberbank and VTB Bank) and almost 90 financial institution subsidiaries. OFAC has expanded Russia related debt and equity restrictions and now prohibit transactions and dealings by US persons or within the US in new debt of longer than 14 days maturity and new equity.
For further information we refer to the press release of the US Department of the Treasury.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0608

UK sanctions

On 24 February the UK sanctioned additional companies and financial institutions restricting access UK finance markets. New restrictions on trade and export controls against Russia’s hi-tech and strategic industries were announced and Russia’s national airline Aeroflot has been banned from UK airspace.

EU sanctions

On 24th February the EU agreed to further sanctions against Russia that target – (a) the financial sector (b) the energy and transport sectors (c) dual-use goods (d) export control and export financing (e) visa policy (f) additional sanctions against Russian individuals. The sanctions include:

• Financial sanctions, targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state owned companies,
• Sanctions targeting the energy sector including an export ban directed at the oil sector
• A ban on the sale of aircrafts and equipment to Russian airlines
• Restrictions on Russia’s access to crucial technology, such as semiconductors or cutting-edge software

For further information we refer to the website of the European Commission.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/eu-solidarity-ukraine_en

The situation in Ukraine has been changing rapidly in the past days including in relation to the sanctions imposed against Russia. In addition to the sanctions already announced, new sanctions are expected in the near future and expected to have a severe impact on the Russian economy and financial institutions. They will also affect transport and access to Russian ports. We briefly summarize the latest sanctions as follows:

United States

On 21 February, President Biden signed an Executive Order targeting the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic in Ukraine which prohibits:

a. new investment in these regions;
b. the import of good, services, technology from these regions to the US; and
c. export of goods, services or technologies from the US or by a US person to these regions.

On 22 February, the US introduced sanctions against the Russian financial services sector including targeted sanctions against two Russian state-owned financial institutions, with the Foreign Economic Affairs Vnesheconombank (“VEB”) and Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company (“PSB”) and their subsidiaries listed on the SDN list.

United Kingdom

The UK sanctions are limited in scope but add 5 Russian banks (IS Bank; Rossiya Bank; PJSC Promsvyazbank; JSC Genbank; and JSC Black Sea Bank Development and Reconstruction) as well as 3 private individuals to the UK sanctions lists. The UK government has also announced that sanctions already imposed in relation to Crimea will be extended to non-government controlled territory in the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

EU sanctions

On 22 February, EU Member States agreed to a new package of sanctions against Russia, which will now be formally implemented. The sanctions target individuals, companies and banks. Trade is to be banned between the two breakaway regions and the EU. The Russian government is also cut off from the European financial markets.

In light of the ongoing developments, this is a preliminary summary only and more measures have already been announced. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will publish further updates. We recommend that members to carry out sanctions checks before all voyages to Russia, avoid the territorial waters of Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea for the time being and to contact the NNPC at claims@nnpc.nl should there be any questions.

Finally, we recommend Members to include the BIMCO Sanctions Clause for Time CharterParties 2020 or the BIMCO Sanctions Clause for Voyage CharterParties 2020, as appropriate, in their charter parties.

We draw our members attention to the fact that the Joint War Committee has updated the Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils Listed Areas to include the Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as per their recent circular. As a result insurance cover may be prejudiced when travelling to these areas and additional insurance required. In light of the regional tensions and developments we would recommend only proceeding to this area when necessary and seek advance guidance from agents locally and from your underwriters to ensure compliance with any requirements.

We also draw our members attention that new sanctions have been announced. We recommend that additional sanction checks be conducted as necessary. We will publish a separate circular on sanctions once more details are available.

Download: JWLA-028 Black Sea and Sea of Azov-1.pdf

We have been advised by Ukranian correspondents that as from 21:00 hrs (Kyiv time) , Sunday, 13 February 2022 and up to Saturday, 19, February 2022, the Russian Federation has announced that it will perform naval missile-related training in the Black Sea-Ukrainian coastline which will cause part of the areas at Black Sea to remain closed for merchant vessel navigation. Parts indicated in red in the attached map indicate the affected areas.

Vessels scheduled to set course through the Black Sea and/or Sea of Azov are therefore recommended to request their port agents for a current update on the routing and accessibility of ports in this area.