We spent time in Ukraine early on in the war, meeting with key stakeholders in the maritime community. Read our on the ground dispatches here:
Day 1 - Seafarer turned humanitarian
Day 3 - A Chief Officer's insight
Ukraine: Seafarers Caught in Conflict
The situation in Ukraine is devastating. The Black Sea has become virtually impassable to ships, leaving thousands of seafarers in the crossfire. We are seeing human rights abuses and war crimes taking place against seafarers. We are working to ensure that the interests of seafarers are represented during the conflict, that they are allowed to reach places of safety, and that when their human rights are abused they can obtain justice.
We recently wrote about the urgent need to establish maritime humanitarian corridors (part 1 and part 2) to ensure that the vessels and crew stranded in Ukrainian ports and waters and not left without supplies, in the middle of deadly crossfire. This piece builds on our earlier work about the need for safe 'blue corridors' and the risk that mines present to these.
We are working with the international community to collect evidence of war crimes and human rights abuses that have taken place against seafarers during the Ukraine war. We wrote about the cargo ship Azburg, which was attacked and sunk in the Black Sea.
From the outset of the conflict we have worked with InterManger to encourage the IMO to act decisively to protect seafarers.
International articles
- Lloyds List - Seafarer charity launches Ukraine appeal
- Lloyds List - Seafarers trapped in Ukraine facing dire conditions
- Tradewinds - War crimes: Human Rights at Sea returns from Ukraine after fact-finding trip
- DCN - Black Sea Mines a Threat to Safety of Seafarer Evacuations, HRAS Says
- Maritime Executive - Opinion: War Crimes Against Seafarers Warrant Accountability
- The Conversation - Hundreds of seafarers are still stranded in Ukraine waters – the legal rights of this profession are barely up to standard