Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has warned fishing companies in Russia to stop using foreign-owned ships for transportation of their catches.
The national Federal Agency for Fisheries is trying to avert the ban, which could cost the industry as much as USD 189 million (EUR 163 million) in additional expenses for logistics.
In July, dozen of fishing companies operating in the North and Far East fishery basins of Russia received notifications from the FSB demanding they cease using foreign-owned ships for delivering their harvests to shore, the Russian business journal Kommersant reported.
In response to a public outcry over the demands, the FSB issued a statement insisting it is merely enforcing an existing ban that went into effect via a federal law passed in 2011. That law prohibits using any foreign-owned vessels for a fishery business in Russian waters even if they are bareboat-chattered, which means they are operated by Russian companies under Russian flag and are Russian-manned, FSB said.
However, the FSB seems to have radically changed its interpretation of the law.
In response to FSB’s move and complaints regarding the enforcement from Russia’s fishing companies, the Federal Agency for Fisheries has become involved in the issue. Top officials from the agency met with their counterparts from the FSB. After the meeting, the officials said in a joint statement that the issue requires further discussion.
Pyotr Savchuk, the agency’s head, told the press that many of the vessels in question indeed belong to Russian shipowners, but are registered abroad. He said his agency had asked the FSB for a six-month period to allow companies to bring their papers in line with the legislation.
As a result of the likely new enforcement of the law, German Zverev, head of the All-Russian Association of Fish Breeders, Entrepreneurs, and Exporters (VARPE) estimated the ban will cost Russian fishing companies around USD 189 million (EUR 163 million) in additional logistics and other expenditures. He pointed to the high share of foreign-owned transportation vessels in the North fishery basin, which currently stands at 70 percent, and said that replacing that many ships is infeasible.
