Russia has suspended transportation and mail links with Georgia following a diplomatic row last week over the arrest of four Russian officers in Tbilisi for alleged spying, who were released Monday.
But Vladimir Yerygin, head of the Black Sea port administration, denied that the impounding of the ships was related to the dispute, saying that the vessels simply failed to comply with international standards.
"Both vessels do not correspond to international standards, and they have been impounded and denied freight transportation," he said.
Yerygin said the ban on transportation links with Georgia did not cover ships and cargoes transiting through Georgian ports under the flags of third countries and they were accepted in Novorossiisk.
"We cannot violate international shipping regulations," he said. "A vessel carrying a cargo to Armenia [through the Georgian port of Poti] under the Bulgarian flag is not liable to the ban."
