Russia – Ukraine conflict latest developments

We are following the situation in Ukraine closely and will continually publish information received from our correspondents. The situation is unpredictable and status of ports and sea areas may change quickly. For vessels trading to Ukraine you are strongly advised to contact local agents.

Either as a direct consequence of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict or as an indirect consequence we have learned about the following implications on shipping:

Shortlink for this chapter 8 March 2022

1. Travel implications

• It has been reported that flights to or from Russia to the EU, the UK, the USA, Canada, and Moldova are banned. This may affect any crew repatriations to or from Russia.
• Any flights to and from the Ukraine have been stopped. This may affect any crew repatriations to or from the Ukraine.
• Ukrainians in Russia were urged to leave Russia citing potential loss of consular service.

2. Local implications in the Ukraine

• Our sources, reported that all Ukrainian ports are closed for inward/outward passages as well as any cargo operations.
• We also learned that currently Ukrainian agents cannot provide assistance in the Ukrainian ports.
• It was reported that the Sea of Azov is closed.
• NATO warned on the risks of mines in the Black Sea.

3. Effects on shipowners operating vessels with Ukrainian crew

• Several Ukrainian seafarers have asked to be repatriated a.s.a.p. to be with their families and which can be challenging as they cannot be flown to either the Ukraine or Russia.
• Many Ukrainian crew signing off may put a strain on shipowners to get replacement crew quickly.
• Ukrainian seafarers staying on the vessels may be increasingly stressed due to the situation in their country. We recommend ensuring that they have a stable and fast internet access to stay in touch with their families.
• Providing extra mental and emotional support for Ukrainian crew would be helpful.
• Shipowners with mixed crew (Russian and Ukrainian) may see more conflicts on board. We recommend ensuring a close contact between the shore management and the vessels to provide any assistance and support to the crew to avoid any conflicts.

4. Effects or restrictions in other countries

• It has been reported that Russian ships have been banned from UK ports; the ban includes any vessels owned or operated by anyone connected to Russia and authorities will also gain new powers to detain Russian vessels.
• The UK port ban includes the UK port of Gibraltar which means that Russian vessels cannot call Gibraltar for bunkering any longer.
• Also, the Government of Canada prohibits Russian ships and fishing vessels from entering Canadian ports and internal waters.
• There are news reports that the USA may act alone and release an oil embargo against Russia, this would mean that Russian tankers cannot call US ports.

5. Regional implications

• Our sources advised us that Azov Sea is partly blocked by Russian Navy, but this is not affecting the Russian ports of Taman and Kavkaz. At the same time, we learned that in Russian Black Sea ports currently there has been no military activity at all and there are none planned. Please also see the circular of our local correspondents.
• Our sources in Romania report that all Romanian ports are safe and that few vessels at Constantzaanchorage returned from Ukrainian ports. There are vessels scheduled to discharge at Ukrainian ports waiting at Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Marmara and if the war will not end soon, alternatively ports to discharge their cargoes will be found.
  So far, the congestion in Constantza port is rather normal, for the time of year and the prevailing weather conditions. There are some cargoes for Ukraine discharged at Romanian ports and certainly this will be increased if the war will not cease soon.
  Correspondents have seen foreign crewmembers from the vessels blocked in Ukrainian ports to disembark through Romania, as the access to Danube and Black Sea ports of Ukraine is still possible from Romania. Considering that men between 16 and 60 years old are not allowed to leave from Ukraine, not much traffic of Ukrainian crewmembers is expected leaving from Ukraine, but only for those that are returning to Ukraine.
• Our sources made us aware that in Russia making public calls for extremism and terrorism acts on social media platforms, the internet or in person are punishable crimes in accordance with Article 280, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The person’s nationality is irrelevant for committing this crime which can result in imprisonment of up to 15 years. We recommend to our members to instruct their crew to not making any comments to Russian authorities about the ongoing conflict between Russia and the Ukraine, especially terms like “war”, “invasion”, etc. should not be used. The crew should even if they feel provoked not comment on politics or mention that they want to join the soldiers in Ukraine when dealing with Russian authorities to avoid any consequences that could result in a jail sentence.

Source: Skuld