ICS warned of potential supply chain disruption should the free movement of Ukrainian and Russian seafarers be affected.
According to the Seafarer Workforce Report, published in 2021 by BIMCO and ICS, 1.89 million seafarers are currently operating over 74,000 vessels in the global merchant fleet.
Of this total workforce, 198,123 (10.5%) of seafarers are Russian of which 71,652 are officers and 126,471 are ratings. Ukraine accounts for 76,442 (4%) of seafarers of which 47,058 are officers and 29,383 are ratings. Combined they represent 14.5% of the global workforce.
To maintain a flowing trade, ICS notes that seafarers must be able to join and disembark ships freely across the world.
With flights cancelled in the region, this will become increasingly difficult. The ability to pay seafarers also needs to be maintained via international banking systems
ICS has previously warned of a shortage of merchant sailors to crew commercial ships if action is not taken to boost numbers, raising risks for global supply chains. This has been compounded by draconian travel restrictions due to the pandemic, that saw seafarers unable to crew change and resulted in 100,000 overstaying contracted periods at sea.
The safety of our seafarers is our absolute priority. We call on all parties to ensure that seafarers do not become the collateral damage in any actions that governments or others may take
stated Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping, highlighting that “seafarers have been at the forefront of keeping trade flowing though the pandemic and we hope that all parties will continue to facilitate free passage of goods and these key workers at this time.”
According to Dryad, commercial operators should avoid any transit or operations within the EEZ of Ukraine or Russia in the Black Sea.
Commercial operations within the EEZ of Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania remain unaffected at this time.
As the situation develops there remains a high degree of uncertainty regarding the freedom of navigation throughout the wider Black Sea. The main risk to all vessels and commercial operations beyond the key risk area is commercial uncertainty rather than risk to safety of crew.
On the 15th February 2022, the Joint War Committee added Ukrainian and Russian Waters in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the Hull war, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils Listed Areas.
