Handling Russian Containers at Ports Cannot Be Avoided: Consultant

Russian containers left stranded at transhipment hubs could become a problem for the industry. File Image / Pixabay

The container industry needs to decide how it is to handle Russian cargoes at ports if it is to avoid operations being brought to a halt, according to a leading industry expert.

Banning the handling of Russian cargo will need to be thought through carefully, Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.

"From a container perspective, a vessel will have containers from many different countries, and the Russian cargo might be the container on the top of the stack," Jensen said.

"That means that it is of course necessary to handle the Russian cargo to get the other legitimate cargo underneath the Russian container offloaded.

"The question is therefore not whether to handle Russian cargo in the physical sense – that clearly has to happen.

"The question is whether to leave the cargo in the port or to handle the container again and re-load it onto the vessel to send it back to origin."

The industry will also need to consider how to handle cargo from Russia that has already arrived at European transhipment hubs, Jensen added.

"Tens of thousands of containers cannot be left to stand and clog up major ports and terminals in Europe – they have to be shifted to off-site depots where available," he said.

"This might require lifting the containers on a small feeder vessel and discharging them subsequently at a new storage location.

"A blanket ban on handling Russian cargo will therefore be counter-productive in terms of dealing with the congestion problems in European ports as it would prevent shifting these boxes away from the already clogged ports."