Hamburg, Germany (Ports Europe) March 7, 2022 – On March 1, 2021, container terminal operators HHLA and Eurogate announced that all container handling to and from Russia would cease forthwith. This will also affect rail and truck transport. HHLA’s rail division Metrans has announced that it will discontinue container transport from and to Russia. This decision is as result of EU sanctions on Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
In 2021, the port handled 337,000 TEU in seaborne transport with the Russian Federation. Automatic clearance of goods for Russia is cancelled.
In the current situation, on exports the Customs is determining which freight precisely is involved in specific cases. Any automatic clearance of goods for Russia is cancelled. Those included on the sanctions list therefore no longer receive export clearance. All other freight may continue to be delivered. This differentiated procedure means that freight exports to Russia are no longer handled with IT, but must be individually checked by members of Customs staff, which is naturally more time-consuming.
“We handled 337,000 TEU in seaborne traffic with Russia last year. That total will now be distinctly lower. The Port of Hamburg has hitherto been one of the most significant hubs for Russian imports and exports. There have so far been 13 liner services between the Port of Hamburg and the Russian ports of St Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Kaliningrad, Bronka, Murmansk and Archangel,” says Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing.
In a related issue, last Saturday Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs of Dmytro Kuleba called for all European ports to be closed for Russian ships.
“Help us stop Putin. Close all European ports for Russian ships. The time to act is now,” Kuleba said in Twitter on Saturday.
Information from the Port of Hamburg.
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