Port of Hamburg implements sanctions

Numerous sanctions mean that the Russian war in the Ukraine is leading to Russia’s economic isolation. The repercussions are also affecting the Port of Hamburg. Terminals in Hamburg handled 337,000 TEU in seaborne transport with the Russian Federation last year.

On 1 March container terminal operators HHLA and Eurogate announced discontinuation of all container handling to and from Russia. In addition to seaborne services, rail and truck transport is also affected. Companies refer to the sanctions imposed by the European Union. HHLA’s rail subsidiary Metrans has announced that it will discontinue container transport from and to Russia.

Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, MSC, ONE and CMA CGM are among many shipping companies to have cancelled almost all bookings to and from Russia and the Ukraine.

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.

These measures will also have economic repercussions for the Port of Hamburg. “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.

The Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control provides data on the embargo regulations now in force on its website (only in german): https://www.bafa.de/DE/Aussenwirtschaft/Ausfuhrkontrolle/Embargos/Russland