Russian shipping news was a near-constant on Daily Splash – our free newsletter – throughout the week. A new port security decree that requires Federal Security Service (FSB) clearance for all foreign vessels created some tanker turmoil with a temporary halt on foreign oil tanker loadings at key Black Sea export hubs reported mid-week. The clampdown follows recent port mishaps — including explosions, sabotage incidents, and drone attacks — that have threatened Russia’s oil infrastructure. Officially, authorities cite regulatory violations, but the timing aligns with heightened domestic security measures and escalating Western sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector. Last week, Russia’s state-run port operator FSUE Rosmorport announced a RUB3.16bn ($39.5m) tender to inspect the underwater sections of vessels at key Baltic Sea ports amid mounting concerns over maritime sabotage.

July’s biggest maritime news item – the return of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea – was the second most reported issue this week. Greece dispatched a salvage vessel to the Red Sea in response to the recent sinkings of two Greek-operated bulk carriers. The brief detention of the Greek managed Merinos Livestock, a 49-year-old, 2,200 dwt ship, near Yemen yesterday also made headlines, while Human Rights Watch said earlier this week that the deadly attacks on the two bulk carriers are violations of the laws of war, amounting to war crimes. “Commanders who willfully order or carry out these unlawful attacks, mistreat detainees, or are liable as a matter of command responsibility, are responsible for war crimes,” the NGO stated in a release. 

Elsewhere, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered the owners and operators of the X-Press Pearl container vessel to pay $1bn in compensation for the devastating environmental and economic damage caused when the ship caught fire and sank off Colombo in 2021 leading to what the court described as the largest recorded marine plastic spill in history.

Finally, important news from the bunkering sector where a group of major shipping and marine fuel companies has launched a self-regulatory initiative aimed at increasing transparency and trust in the bunkering process, starting in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region, the world’s second-largest and Europe’s largest bunkering hub. The Bunkering Services Initiative, backed by companies including Cargill, Frontline, Hafnia, Hapag-Lloyd, Mercuria, Minerva Bunkering, Oldendorff, Trafigura, TFG Marine, Unifeeder, and Vitol, targets long-standing industry issues related to fuel quantity discrepancies and inconsistent quality standards.

To digest this week’s main news from Russia in audio form, below is the fifth episode of the Splash Wrap podcast.