Russian State Duma approves a bill on wrecks removal in the first reading

The bill introduces mechanisms to ensure the shipwrecks removal by their owners

The State Duma of the Russian Federation at a plenary session October 26, 2021 adopted in the first reading a bill (No 1219892-7) "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" (on the removal of sunken vessels). The bill specifies the mechanism and procedures for removal of sunken wrecks, the Duma press office said.

The document introduces amendments to the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation concerning the prohibition of the sinking of ships, the procedure for determining the financial support for the wrecks removal. It is also proposed to establish a ban in the Code of Inland Water Transport of the Russian Federation.

Previously, the Russian government submitted to the State Duma a draft law “On the accession of the Russian Federation to the The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007”.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, at a meeting of the government on July 8, 2021, announced the need to recycle old ships.