Swedish Gov't Ridiculed for Underreporting Over a Hundred Annual Russian Port Calls

The Swedish government has landed in hot water after providing a hugely incorrect figure about the number of Russian ships calling in at Swedish ports. The moment came while discussing a blockade of Russian vessels on behalf of port workers.

The government apparently dampened down the issue, claiming that merely 12 Russian ships per year docked in Swedish harbours – a figure repeated by Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth and Foreign Minister Ann Linde, both representing the ruling Social Democrats.

"Last year, a total of 12 ships from Russia called at Swedish ports, so there are not very many of them", Tomas Eneroth told national broadcaster SVT in a previous interview. Ann Linde concurred, calling the matter "insignificant" for Sweden.

Yet, according to data provided by the Swedish Maritime Administration and sent to government offices, the 12 Russian-flagged ships that the ministers referred to called at Swedish ports between 1 January and 9 March of this year. The total number of Russian-flagged ships per year, by contrast, has averaged at around 170 over the past three years – more than ten times higher.

"I think there has been a mistake in communication between the Swedish Maritime Administration and the ministry", Swedish Maritime Administration communications strategist Jonas Franzen told SVT.

Furthermore, many more ships coming from Russian ports arrive under various flags. Overall, there have been 1,200 port calls by vessels from Russian ports, regardless of their flag, since 2020.

Given the scope of the error, the blunder caused raised eyebrows among shipping professionals.

On Monday 28 March, the Swedish Port Workers' Union started a blockade against all ships with connections to Russia as a token of solidarity with Ukraine, following Russia's special operation that Sweden, in line with most of the West, portrays as an "invasion".

Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth stood corrected and admitted the mistake, yet called on the issue to be resolved at the EU level.

"We have received incorrect information. However, this doesn't put the issue in any different light. We want to continue to see the issue resolved at EU level. The strength of the sanctions is based on the EU countries acting together", Eneroth told SVT.

Following the start of Russia's campaign to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine, the West, including the EU, imposed crippling political and economic sanctions against Russia targeting its banking sector and currency, access to European financial markets, as well as tech and consumer goods. Moscow responded to the sanctions by unveiling plans to make "unfriendly nations" pay for Russian natural gas and crude shipments using its national currency – the ruble.