Baltic ice threatens Russian exports - ships without appropriate class may be stopped

The most extensive sea ice in 15 years around key Russian commodity ports in the Baltic Sea could limit a significant portion of the country's vast export program due to a shortage of vessels capable of handling such conditions. This is reported by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.

Details

The management of key Russian hubs in the region - the Primorsk oil terminal and the Vysotsk fuel port - requires that vessels without ice class be accompanied by separate icebreakers when navigating the waters of the Baltic Sea.

According to Alexander Kolesov, chief meteorologist of St. Petersburg, the Gulf of Finland, from which 40% of Russia's seaborne oil exports are carried out, is now almost completely covered with ice, and the area covered by ice continues to grow. He noted that similar events were last observed in February 2010 and 2011.

At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Transport advised vessel operators to "take this circumstance into account when deciding whether to send vessels to the Gulf of Finland" - implying that icebreakers would only arrive in late February.

If the ice thickness increases to 30-50 centimeters - just 5 centimeters more than now - then the ports of Ust-Luga, Primorsk, and Vysotsk will prohibit entry to all non-ice-class vessels from March 1, regardless of escort availability, according to orders from all three ports.

It is also reported that oil exports from Primorsk in the first half of February fell to 490,000 barrels per day, a third less than a year earlier, and 50% less than in the same period of 2024.

Meanwhile, about 140 million barrels of oil are stored on tankers that are forced to make longer voyages to China due to the refusal of Indian refineries and some vessels being idle for weeks. Since the end of August, the amount of Russian oil at sea has increased by approximately 60%.

Recall

On February 15, Russian authorities began an investigation into the collision of the oil tanker "Tony" with a pier in the port of Ust-Luga. The incident resulted in damage to infrastructure, but there were no casualties.