Russia expects obstacles to shipping in the Baltic Sea

Russia has complained about Western countries that have made transit to Kaliningrad more difficult and are trying to interfere with Russian shipping in the Baltic Sea.

The Chairman of the Russian Maritime Board, Nikolai Patrushev, said that Western countries were allegedly trying to isolate the Kaliningrad oblast.

“In order to isolate the Kaliningrad oblast and disrupt transport links with the main territory of Russia, Western countries are trying to make cargo and passenger transit to Kaliningrad as difficult as possible,” Patrushev said.

Patrushev also complained that the West was seeking to change the status of the Baltic Sea and restrict the movement of the Russian fleet in the region.

“After Finland and Sweden joined NATO, the desire to change the status of the Baltic Sea and revise the existing legal norms concerning the sea spaces and straits used for international navigation became noticeable. Plans are being developed to ban the movement of Russian ships in the Baltic Sea,” Patrushev said.

Patrushev added that Russian ships were allegedly disconnecting from satellite communications.

He said that the transportation of goods necessary for the life and economy of Kaliningrad by land was limited to 80% of the product range.

According to him, the bulk of road and rail freight traffic in the Kaliningrad direction had to be redirected to sea routes.

“Work is also underway to reorient diesel fuel, cement, gravel and other cargoes to a specialized tanker fleet, bulk carriers and dry bulk carriers,” he said.

The existing Baltiysk-Ust-Luga ferry line is currently the only transportation artery that allows cargo to be transported to Kaliningrad outside of the land area.

In order to increase the volume of transportation required for the Kaliningrad oblast, the Russian Federation has decided to build two road-rail ferries. They will be built at the production facilities of the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex. The scheduled completion date is 2028.

As previously reported, in May the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces suggested preparing for a possible blockade of the Baltic Sea.