Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree requiring all foreign-flagged vessels to secure clearance from the Federal Security Service before entering any Russian seaport, according to the text published on 21 July. The order takes effect immediately and applies nationwide. Until now, entry permissions were issued by the Transport Ministry, with extra checks limited mainly to ports near naval bases. The new rules hand the FSB—successor to the Soviet-era KGB—a decisive role in vetting commercial and other foreign ships across the country’s entire maritime network. The Kremlin offered no explicit rationale, but the move follows a string of unexplained explosions on oil tankers in Russian waters and comes as Moscow’s maritime trade faces tighter international scrutiny under Western sanctions.