The Netherlands did not allow a fishing vessel from Russia under the pretext of espionage

Russian fishermen began to face new restrictions when supplying fish products to the EU. The Netherlands, a major transport hub through which the Russianfish is supplied to the EU.

The incident occurred on May 16: the entry of a Russian vessel was canceled by the Dutch port of Eemshaven, the Association of Shipowners of the Fishing Fleet (ASRF) told RBC. We are talking about a vessel that belongs to Arctic Shipping, a company that is part of one of the largest fishing holdings in RUSSIA, the Norebo group. The vessel was refused despite having all the necessary documents (catch certificate, port state control forms, etc.), which were submitted in advance in accordance with EU requirements, the association points out.

Russian suppliers were asked to use “alternative delivery routes,” the ASRF says. But attempts to change the landing site to another port in the Netherlands - Velsen, or ports in Germany "also proved futile."

The Norebo press service confirmed to RBC that the transport ship Belomorye was heading with cargo to the port of Eemshaven, but was refused entry by the port authorities. “It was decided to change the port to Velson, but they also received a refusal,” the company added.

The pretext for the refusal could have been information from the Dutch media that appeared in May that Russian fishing vessels could be involved in espionage activities. An investigation on this topic was published on May 4 by the investigative journalism platform Pointer (KRO-NCRV).

“The Dutch media raised an openly Russophobic story that the Russian Maritime Doctrine, updated in 2022, allegedly provides for the direct control of fishing and transport vessels by the Russian authorities, which must be constantly ready to carry out certain “special operations.” This fabrication was used as a pretext when making a decision to ban the entry of Russian transport vessels with fish into the Netherlands,” says ASRF President Alexey Osintsev.

Russian fishing can be used for surveillance at foreign ports, according to the authors of an article published by Pointer - according to their version, in particular, the vessels of one of the largest Russian cod miners, Norebo, may be involved in this. Reefer ships “enter Eemshaven unhindered and moor near the military installation,” the article says. This port is of strategic importance - for example, 11 of the 15 Internet cables connecting Europe to America land there, there are two floating LNG terminals and work is underway on the construction of a NATO ammunition depot.

“We can pay high prices for frozen fish entering our country. By importing Russian cod, we expose ourselves to possible espionage and sabotage and sponsor the war in Ukraine,” the authors of the investigation write. The conclusion that Russian fishing vessels may have “another mission” in addition to fish delivery is made in the article on the basis of the Russian Maritime Doctrine updated in 2022, according to which civilian vessels, including fishing vessels, can be used in wartime (in the article refer to paragraphs 84 and 85 of the document). In addition, at the end of April, the Swedish Navy warned that some Russian civilian ships - for example, oil tankers - are being used for radio reconnaissance and interception of communications. “We are finding antennas and masts that would not normally belong to a fishing vessel,” said Rear Admiral Eva Skoog Haslum, commander of the Swedish Navy.

Norebo fishing vessels catch cod and other fish in the Norwegian, Barents Seas and the Pacific Ocean. A significant part of the catch is transported every two weeks on refrigerated vessels to the Netherlands, where fish products are sold under the Glacialis brand, the investigation says. Reefers are the only Russian ships allowed to enter Dutch ports; others are prohibited from entering due to sanctions imposed against Russia in response to the launch of a special military operation in Ukraine .

Norebo itself, according to the commentary of its representative cited in the article, categorically denied its involvement in hidden actions in Dutch ports and called the accusations against it “fantasies.” “The holding’s fishing vessels are exclusively engaged in fishing, processing and transportation of fish products; they have never performed any other functions,” the Norebo press service told RBC.

On 14 May, shortly after the publication of the investigation, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren signaled to the House of Representatives that Russian fishing vessels were no longer welcome in Eemshaven because they might be involved in espionage activities.

“The restrictions affected the entry of vessels flying the Russian flag; there are no restrictions on the supply of fish products,” Norebo emphasized, adding that its fish products “still remain in demand in the EU countries and beyond.”

RBC sent a request to the port of Eemshaven, the Groningen Seaports organization that manages this port, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands and the General Directorate for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission. 

The Netherlands is one of the five largest EXPORT markets for Russian fish, along with CHINA, Japan, SOUTH KOREA and Nigeria, the HEAD of Rosrybolovstvo, Ilya Shestakov, told RIA Novosti in April. In general, Russia in 2023, according to estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture, supplied 2.5 million fish products abroad, that is, about half of the total catch (last year it amounted to 5.2 million tons).

In 2023, Russia exported 138 thousand tons of fish products to the Netherlands alone - 4% more than a year earlier, Pointer writes. And in 2022, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, cited by the authors of the article, the Netherlands imported fish products from Russia totaling €184 million. Of this, only one-eighth was intended for its own market - the rest was in transit to Southern Europe, Germany and China .

The main part of Russian fish exports to the EU is white fish - cod andpollock ​In 2023, Russia accounted for almost half of all frozen cod supplies to the EU (61.4 out of 112.3 thousand tons), and more than half of the frozen fillets of this fish (40.4 out of 76.3 thousand tons), follows from data from the UN Comtrade database, which was provided by the All-Russian Association of Fisheries (VARPE). And according to ASRF, Russian cod on the EU market makes up about a third (in terms of raw weight) of the total volume of supplies, which also come from countries such as Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and other European countries. The leader in the EU market remains Norway, which Russia will not be able to get ahead of in the export of Atlantic cod products, since the size of the Norwegian national quota is larger than that of our country.

Before this, ships delivering fish products to Europe were not subject to European sanctions , the ASRF notes. Only Norway, which is not part of the EU, has limited Russian fishermen’s access to its ports, allowing them to deliver fish, replenish supplies and change crews only in three ports in the north of the country - Kirkenes, Tromsø and Botsfjord.

Formally, sanctions on the export and import of goods imposed by the European Union against Russia after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine do not apply to food . But the supply of Russian fish to EU ports has become significantly more complicated, states the ASRF. If foreign transport ships are not used to deliver fish from port to port, then alternative land routes can significantly increase logistics costs - by 20-30%, the association warns. “It turns out that Russian fishermen were restricted not only from freedom of navigation, but also from economic activity in our sea waters. Together with other bans and unfriendly barriers, this reduces the opportunities for exporting Russian fish to the European market, primarily cod,” says the ASRF.

In addition to logistics difficulties in the EU and UK markets , there are other measures in place regarding Russian exports. In March 2022, the UK introduced a 35% tariff on supplies of Russian white fish. And at the end of 2023, the European Council approved the decision to return the duty for fish from Russia - it was excluded from the system of tariff quotas (ATQ) for 2024-2026. From 2024 , white fish sent to Europe from Russia and Belarus will be subject to a duty (for cod, as specified in the VARPE, it is 12%).

“Despite the consistently high price of cod on the European market, Russian suppliers are suffering losses due to increased import duties that Europe applies to our fish,” states the ASRF. The economy of Russian enterprises suffers from additional costs and losses in the fishery due to delivery restrictions , and for fishermen their costs are already rising, primarily for fuel, maintenance and repair of the fleet. As a result, Russian fish products are losing both export prices and margins, the association complains. The “exchange rate” duty on exports of 5-7%, adopted last September by the Russian authorities, also became sensitive for business. “In the current conditions, it is important to analyze the situation and make a timely decision to cancel it,” the ASRF believes.

The EU, in turn, also feels the consequences of restrictions in fish trade with Russia - for example, the European market is faced with a shortage of cod. Against the backdrop of trade barriers and a reduction in the global catch of this fish, European processors simply do not receive enough raw materials, WARPE reported, citing a report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Competition for raw materials leads to a multiple increase in cost, but European consumers, despite rising prices, maintain demand for their traditional fish. According to the FAO, against the backdrop of this situation, European fish processors and importers even asked the European Commission to maintain duty-free imports of Russian fish for one year so that they could have a transition period. The European Commission then told RBC that it does not comment on “bilateral exchanges with EU stakeholders.”

However, Russia itself can increase its share of the world cod and haddock market through supplies to friendly countries in South America and Africa, says Sergei Sennikov, deputy general DIRECTOR of Norebo Management Company. For example, Russia still occupies only 5-10% of the market for processed fish products from these types of fish. “At the same time, while developing new sales markets, it is important to preserve traditional markets in the EU and the UK,” Sennikov emphasized.