150 Ships Bound For Russian Ports Stuck In Gulf Of Finland In 50 Km Long Queue

Approximately 150 ships destined for various Russian ports like Ust-Luga, Primorsk, and St Petersburg have been stuck in the Gulf of Finland, forming long queues stretching several kilometres.

The cause of the bottleneck is said to be Moscow’s diversion of cargo from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea due to continuous attacks on vessels by Ukrainian drones and missiles.

Several such queues have been reported, with one going for 50 kilometres, according to a maritime traffic firm called Helsingin Sanomat.

Ukraine has increased attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea, along with targeting ports such as Novorossiysk, which is vital for oil export and handles a major volume of Russia’s oil trade.

In recent weeks, Russian shipments of diesel fuel and gasoil through the Black Sea also fell to zero for the first time last week.

Russia is also converting its Baltic and Arctic terminals specialising in ore, coal, mineral and fertiliser handling into grain loading hubs. Sources confirm that 65 of the stuck ships are tankers loaded with oil and the rest are cargo ships.

Most of these vessels are mentioned on the Ukrainian list of those violating laws by smuggling Ukrainian grain, weapons or violating Western sanctions.

The Coast Guard said that the situation has become worse and it might take weeks for the waterway to clear up, given that more ships do not enter the scene.

Simultaneously, there is a long queue outside Russian ports, as ships are not able to adhere to a schedule. The waiting times at the Russian port of Ust-Luga have increased to 5 days, according to sources.

Sami Järvenpää, deputy commander of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard, added that the situation was not unusual, saying it might resolve in the coming weeks. He also said that no additional intervention or forces are needed at present.