Bulgaria has been closing its ports for ships registered with the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping since April 8, reports PortSEurope.

The decision is based on the EU regulation on the implementation of sanctions. The ban applies to all ships, regardless of the flag they fly.

In April last year, the Bulgarian authorities, within the framework of the fifth package of EU sanctions, already banned ships flying Russian flags from entering Bulgarian ports, making an exception only for the supply of critical products from Russia.

Bulgaria is the only EU country that continues to buy Russian oil by sea, thanks to exemptions from sanctions that the authorities negotiated in Brussels. In March, the volume of such supplies fluctuated between 63 and 104 thousand barrels per day, Bloomberg wrote based on tanker traffic data.

Now Bulgarian ports will be closed for tankers with Russian registration, which could carry oil bypassing the "price ceiling" set by the EU and the G7 countries.

The fifth package of EU sanctions was introduced against Russia because of the military invasion of Ukraine. As the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said earlier, restrictions on ships should have a negative impact on Russian industry.