1,000 Seafarers Stranded In Ukraine Ports And Waters

An estimated 1,000 seafarers are currently stranded in Ukrainian ports and waters with dwindling vital supplies, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has highlighted.

The heads of the ILO and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have called for urgent action to protect seafarers and vessels stranded off Ukraine, the ILO outlined, adding that a joint letter has been sent to the heads of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

The letter, which is said to outline the plight of seafarers on more than 100 trading vessels who are unable to leave Ukraine ports, asks the three agencies to “take urgent action” to assist in the reprovisioning of the ships concerned with “vital supplies”.

“As well as the dangers arising from bombardment, many of the ships concerned now lack food, fuel, fresh water and other vital supplies,” a statement posted on the ILO’s website noted. 

“The situation of the seafarers from many countries is becoming increasingly untenable as a result, presenting grave risks to their health and well-being,” the statement added.

The move by the ILO and IMO follows urgent communications about the situation sent by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the ILO noted.

On March 24, the ILO announced that a resolution passed by its governing body called on the Russian Federation to “immediately and unconditionally cease its aggression”. Put forward by 47 Member States, the 27-paragraph resolution expressed “grave concerns at reports of civilian casualties and attacks on civilian facilities, and the severe impact on workers and employers risking their lives to continue working and operating, including during attacks on hospitals, schools, transportation, businesses, and nuclear power plants, further worsened by the lack of humanitarian access”.

On March 3, the previous ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, condemned the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

During the same month, the IMO held an extraordinary session of its council to address the impacts on shipping and seafarers of the situation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. In the session, the council strongly condemned the Russian Federation’s “violation of the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of a United Nations Member State, extending to its territorial waters”.

A tripartite U.N. agency, the ILO brings together governments, employers, and workers of 187 member States to set labor standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all women and men, its website highlights. The IMO is the UN specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.