All Ukrainian ports have been closed since the conflict started with ships at berth unable to leave. Embassies and consulates have been working around the clock to get affected crew out of the country.
Seafarers in“Warlike Operations Areas” being in danger
Estimates suggest there are more than 2,000 seafarers stranded in Ukrainian waters in an increasingly dangerous situation with Russia tipping to launch a full-scale assault on Odessa, Ukraine’s top port, shortly.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is preparing to bomb Odessa. Russian naval forces and helicopters have been spotted near the city’s beaches.
Russian troops continue to bombard another port city, Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, where conditions are reported as dire with no electricity, heating or communications for the encircled citizens.
The Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) of maritime employers and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have designated areas in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov as “Warlike Operations Areas,” triggering an increased security level and other entitlements for seafarers in the war zone.
Warlike Operations Areas are parts of the world where it is considered that there is a high level of exposure to safety and life risks due to war, military tension, hostilities, pirate activity and other circumstances causing immediate danger to visiting vessels and their crews, according to the federation.
IBF Warlike Operations Areas were designated for the Sea of Azov (north of latitude 46°N), the Northern Black Sea Region and all ports in Ukraine. Under this classification seafarers onboard IBF covered ships are entitled to receive:
● A bonus equal to their basic wage payable for five days’ minimum, or more per day if longer
● Doubled compensations for death and disability
● Right to refuse sailing, with repatriation at company’s cost and compensation equal to 2 month’s basic wages
● Recommendations to operate at ISPS Level 3, the highest risk level
Seafarers' evacuation being underway
All Ukrainian ports have been closed since the conflict started with ships at berth unable to leave. Embassies and consulates have been working around the clock to get affected crew out of the country. The latest data from shipping platform Sea/ shows there are still 100 merchant ships in Ukrainian waters.
The 28 crew of the Banglar Samriddhi bulk carrier who survived a missile attack which killed a colleague last week made it to Bucharest over the weekend while Filipino diplomats have been coordinating the repatriation of many crew including the 21 people onboard the S-Breeze bulker, which was undergoing repairs at a yard in Odessa when Russia went to war.
To date, five merchant ships coming under attack since the war got underway on February 23 with one confirmed seafarer death.
Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service released a video of the crew being evacuated from the port of Yuzhne, which lies some 15 km to the east of downtown Odessa. Just shy of 40 crew from four international ships were moved, including Greeks, Filipinos and Romanians.
Viktor Vyshnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s Maritime Administration, told Reuters efforts were underway to evacuate other foreign seafarers stuck in Ukrainian ports. In recent days up to 100 mariners had managed to reach neighboring Moldova from Ukraine before heading to their home nations, he said.
A global shortage of seafarers being looming
According to BIMCO data from last year, 198,123 (10.5%) of seafarers are Russian, while Ukraine accounts for 76,442 (4%).
A number of Ukrainian crew around the world are keen to end their contracts early to go home to fight. Moreover, given that men between the age of 18 to 60 years are not allowed to leave Ukraine and airports and ports are closed there is no chance of replacing those returning home with fellow countrymen.
Tanker lobby group Intertanko has opened dialogue with Kiev to try and get seafarers deemed as key workers in order for them to avoid military service.
With crew movement impossible out of Ukraine and becoming much harder logistically for Russians too, ship-managers have started to ask their staff at sea to extend their current contracts to fill any immediate gaps.
For Russian crews, they can still be sent to work on ships via Istanbul and Dubai airports, and they can still be paid via a host of international banks.
