The Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia commented on the delivery of a batch of Russian oil to the country, which was reported by Reuters.
The Georgian authorities clarified that on October 2, "a Panamanian-flagged KAYSERI vessel loaded with up to 10,000 tons of crude oil sent by one of the Russian companies (the agency refrains from disclosing company names and disseminating information containing tax secrets) intended for customs import procedures entered the Kulevi seaport from the port of the Russian Federation."
"As a result of the inspection conducted by the Maritime Transport Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and the Revenue Service, it was confirmed that the ship and the ship's owner company, as well as the shipping company and the recipient of the cargo are not subject to international sanctions (information is available from open sources). Based on this, the cargo was unloaded to a temporary customs warehouse for further customs control procedures," the commentary says.
In addition, it is emphasized that the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance and the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency "in a coordinated and continuous manner conduct inspections of both vessels and shipowners regarding international sanctions, and if a vessel or shipowner is on the sanctions list, he is not given the right to enter the ports of Georgia and undergo customs procedures."
As EADaily reported, according to Reuters, Russneft sent the first batch of oil to the refinery in Georgia. According to tracking data and sources, on October 6, the Kayseri tanker delivered 105,340 tons of Siberian light-grade Russian oil from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk to the Kulevi oil terminal.