IMO update on sea mines in the Black Sea region

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has issued a new Circular Letter (No.4573) which contains information about and guidance for the maritime security threat posed by free floating sea mines in the Black Sea Region.

The circular states the following: v The Secretariat has received reports of free floating sea mines in the Black

Sea region, including off the coasts of

Romania and Turkey, resulting from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine which presents a serious and immediate threat to the safety and security of crews and vessels operating in the region. v Ships should navigate with particular caution when operating in the Black Sea region, including off the coasts of littoral States. v The Secretariat continues to liaise closely with all key stakeholders in the region, and to contribute to attempts to address the safety and security of this situation. v Advice, updates and links to external resources for Member States, flag

States, shipping and seafarers can be found on the IMO’s website.

The ongoing armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine presents a serious and immediate threat to the safety and security of crews and vessels operating in the region. IMO is continuing to liaise closely with all key stakeholders in the region to contribute to efforts to address the safety and security of seafarers and shipping.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has established an Emergency Task Force to co-ordinate efforts to mitigate the security and safety risks to shipping, ports and seafarers. A stranded ship reporting form has been introduced. Guidance and advice to keep Flag States appraised of the ongoing situation is updated when it becomes available.

At the start of the conflict approximately 2,000 seafarers were stranded aboard 94 vessels in Ukrainian ports. Ten vessels have subsequently safely departed the Sea of Azov and 84 merchant ships remain, with nearly 450 seafarers onboard. This number continues to steadily reduce. Many ships have employed local ship keepers to replace crew, and some ships have gone into cold lay-up, with no crew remaining onboard. In some situations, crew have chosen to remain onboard. This creates a complex and continually changing picture, made more complex by the challenges of communicating with ships in some locations.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO), have jointly

written to the heads of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF); and to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to request urgent action wherever feasible to assist in the reprovisioning of the ships concerned with the vital supplies needed by their seafarers. The letters note that, as well as the dangers arising from bombardment, many of the ships concerned now lack food, fuel, fresh water, and other vital supplies. 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 letters note that the port city of Mariupol is currently under particularly serious attack at this time.

As requested by the IMO Council at its 35th extraordinary session (C.ES/35), the IMO Secretary-General is collaborating with the relevant parties to initiate the establishment and support the implementation of a blue safe maritime corridor in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and keep Member States informed of developments. However, at present, the establishment of such a corridor is severely hampered by the ongoing security risks, which constrain the option for ships to depart from ports in Ukraine.

The IMO Secretariat continues to work with littoral states to encourage and improve regional information sharing and promulgation of information to shipping to aid the safety of navigation and security of shipping.

With regards to humanitarian support for maritime personnel, the IMO Secretariat has been facilitating discussions with Ukrainian ports administrations, charities and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to support port workers and seafarers directly impacted by the crisis.

BLUE SAFE MARITIME CORRIDOR The Council (C/ES.35) on 10 and 11 March agreed to encourage the establishment, as a provisional and urgent measure, of a blue safe maritime corridor to allow the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships from the high-risk and affected areas in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to a safe place in order to protect the life of seafarers, and ensure the mobilization and commercial navigation of vessels intending to use this corridor by avoiding military attacks and protecting and securing the maritime domain. The Council, in this regard, taking into account the sensitivities of the matter, invited the IMO SecretaryGeneral to collaborate with the relevant parties and take necessary immediate actions to initiate the establishment and support the implementation of a blue safe maritime corridor in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and keep Member States informed of developments and report to the next session of the Council.

The Russian Federation has informed IMO that it had established a humanitarian corridor, to provide for the safe evacuation of ships once outside the territorial waters of the Ukraine. Despite this initiative, there remain many safety and security issues which hamper access to the corridor and the ability for ships to depart from their berth in Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine’s ports are at MARSEC (maritime security) level 3 and remain closed for entry and exit. Sea mines have been laid in port approaches and some port exits are blocked by sunken barges and cranes. Many ships no longer have sufficient crew onboard to sail.

Ukraine also provided their preconditions for the safe evacuation of ships from their ports. These include an end to hostilities, the withdrawal of troops and ensuring the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, including carrying out mine-sweeping activities with the involvement of Black Sea littoral states.

With this in mind, IMO priority has been to support seafarers stranded in Ukraine.