View of the city of Marseille. File photoMOSCOW, Apr 24Cargo ships belonging to sanctioned Russians have been blocked in French ports for almost two months, while local authorities have to deal with their movement inside the harbors at their own expense, France 2 TV channel reports. Russian cargo ships carrying cars or chemicals are stuck at French customs , as their owners fell under the sanctions imposed against Russia, the story says. For example, in the port city of Saint-Malo in Brittany, there is one such vessel, 141 meters long, which barely fits at the pier, which is why it has to be constantly moved to make room for other ships.
The United States has closed ports to Russian ships, according to Brittany Regional Council Vice-Chairman Stephane Perrin, the longer this downtime lasts, the more these movements will be. «Even if it seems that these are just tiny movements in the port, a lot of money is spent on them every time,» he lamented. Brittany took over, demanding help from the state. According to the channel, Russian sailors are also forced to quarantine due to the blockade of cargo ships. As a trade union worker told the TV channel, they are paid a salary, but their bank cards remain blocked in France. “So how long will the blockade of these ships last? The court has already allowed the Pola Ariake ship to leave the port of Lorient. compensation for damages: they could not prove that the vessel really belongs to the Russian citizen who fell under the sanctions. In the coming weeks, several more trials initiated by the shipowners should take place,» sums up France 2. After the start of a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, Western countries increased sanctions pressure to Russia. Restrictive measures are directed primarily against the banking sector and the supply of high-tech products. The European Union previously approved the fifth sanctions package against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. The new restrictive measures include a ban on the import of coal from Russia starting from August 2022, a ban on ships flying the Russian flag entering EU ports, restrictions on trucking companies in Russia and Belarus. The actions of US and European officials have already turned into economic problems for their countries and caused rising fuel and food prices. The Kremlin called the sanctions an economic war the likes of which had never happened before, but emphasized that they were ready for such a development of events. fuel for ships, media reports
