Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic calls on facilitation of border crossing for RF-flagged cruise ships
It is supposed to facilitate the development of tourism, particularly in the Far East and in the Arctic Zone
Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic has developed amendments into the Federal Law “On the State Border of the Russian Federation”. According to the document published on the federal portal for draft regulations, Russian-flagged ships carrying tourists can be allowed not to go through border control.
According to the Ministry’s proposal, Article 16 of the Federal Law is to be supplemented with the following norm: “The border regime rules do not apply to Russian-flagged ships carrying tourist passengers, provided that they send a notification about the implementation of tourism activities according to a procedure approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.”
It is supposed to facilitate the development of tourism including cruises in the Far East and in the Arctic Zone.
According to the authors of the draft law, Russian legislation currently offers more favorable conditions for foreign-flagged ships carrying tourists across the territory of the Russian Federation as compared with cruise ships flying the flag of Russia. Russian-flagged ships crossing the border have to provide numerous permits such as a notification about activities in the internal sea waters and the territorial sea of the Russian Federation, collective passes to the border zone, a notification about the use of boats and others. At the same time, foreign tourist ships are exempted from compliance with these regulations.
The ministry proposes to replace numerous permits with a notification that will be sent to the relevant authorities prior to a cruise.
The draft law was published on 31 January 2023. It is currently undergoing public discussions which are to be completed by February 20.
