'No sanctioned ship or cargo entered ports of Georgia', Ministry of Economy says
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, September 1, 2022
According to the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Guram Guramishvili, no sanctioned ship or cargo has entered the ports of Georgia.
As mentioned in the statement issued by the Ministry of Economy, the deputy minister emphasized the spread of incorrect facts in the so-called marine waters of Georgia. The entry of "sanctioned" ships damages the country's international image and misleads the public.
"Based on the results of the screening, we unequivocally state that the information spread by several news media outlets is false, the ship ATACAMA or its owner is not found in the list of sanctioned companies," said the Deputy Minister.
According to him, the ship ATACAMA sailing under the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis (IMO # 9248801, port of arrival Tuapse, Russia) has been inspected by the relevant services of the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency.
According to Guram Guramishvili, the purpose of the said ship's entry into the waters of Georgia was to supply drinking water and food products, which was carried out on August 30, using a floating means at Saguze point. As for cargo, the ship did not apply for cargo operations and therefore did not carry out cargo operations. According to the current data, the ship has been removed from the Saguze point and is leaving the territorial waters of Georgia.
"The 6th package of EU sanctions completely bans the import of crude oil from Russia to the EU from December 5, 2022, and light oil products from February 5, 2023. In addition, Bulgaria will be able to continue importing energy trains by sea until the end of 2024, and Croatia will be allowed to import light oil products from Russia until the end of 2023. EU sanctions do not apply to the transportation of petroleum products through the pipeline, which is a form of alternative transportation of petroleum products," said Guram Guramishvili.
"The Maritime Transport Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance coordinate and constantly check both ships and shipowners in relation to international sanctions, and if the ship, shipowner, or cargo is on the sanctions list, it is not allowed to enter the ports of Georgia and The right to carry out customs procedures," said the deputy minister at the briefing.
