In light of the Ukraine-Russia tension, the IMO Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, issued a statement supporting the call of UN Secretary-General António Guterres for hostilities to cease immediately.
As IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said:
As the humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Ukraine, I fully support and stand with UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call for hostilities to cease immediately
He also noted that he is “gravely concerned about the spill over effects of the military action in Ukraine on global shipping,” as well as logistics and supply chains, and in particular the impacts on the delivery of commodities and food to developing nations and the impacts on energy supplies.
Along with the people of Ukraine, innocent ships, seafarers and port workers engaged in legitimate trade should not be adversely impacted by this growing crisis. Shipping, particularly seafarers, cannot be collateral victims in a larger political and military crisis – they must be safe and secure
Currently, all commercial operations at Ukrainian Sea ports have been suspended by order of the Ukrainian military. There have also been unconfirmed reports of Russian vessels blocking access to Ukrainian waters at the Northern edge of the Romanian EEZ.
Any vessel currently within Ukrainian Ports should seek to leave immediately if deemed safe to do so. Vessels should ensure they are broadcasting on AIS and clearly state their intentions across VHF. Any vessels challenged by Russian military vessels should comply fully with instructions.
At this time, Dryad Global advices all commercial operators to avoid any transit or operation within the EEZ of Ukraine or Russia within 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. As such the primary risk to all vessels and commercial operations operating beyond the key risk area remains one of commercial uncertainty rather than risk to safety of crew.
Vessels and commercial operators are reminded to avoid all operations and transit within the EEZ of Russia and Ukraine at this time. No attempt should be made to access the Sea of Azov.
