As the Russia Ukraine war drags on, President Joe Biden has issued a proclamation banning all Russian vessels from entering US ports.
The only exceptions are Russian-affiliated vessels used in the transport of source material, specially nuclear material and nuclear by-product, as long as it is determined that no viable source of supply is available that would not require transport by Russian-affiliated vessels.
The second exception is Russian vessels requesting to enter United States ports due to force majeure, solely to allow seafarers of any nationality to disembark or embark for purposes of conducting crew changes, emergency medical care, or for other humanitarian needs.
"Russian-affiliated vessels" are defined as vessels of Russian registry, vessels that are Russian owned, and vessels that are Russian operated.
“The policies and actions of the Government of the Russian Federation to continue the premeditated, unjustified, unprovoked, and brutal war against Ukraine constitute a national emergency by reason of a disturbance or threatened disturbance of international relations of the United States,” Biden said in the proclamation issued last week.
“In order to address this national emergency and secure the observance of the rights and obligations of the United States, I hereby authorise the Secretary of Homeland Security to approve these rules and regulations,” he said.
Canada and several European countries have taken similar action.
The United States has also banned the import of Russian oil – crude or refined products. This ruling came into effect on April 22.
The ban on Russian vessels takes effect on April 28.
