The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is seeking the establishment of a safe maritime corridor for the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships caught between the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
This comes as an IMO Extraordinary Council Session was held late last week to tackle the impact of the escalating conflict on seafarers and shipping in the Black Sea and the Sea of Avoz.
"The Council 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, 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 IMO said in a statement.
The IMO also reiterated its stance condemning what the Russian Federation calls as a "special military operation" in Ukraine, "deplored in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter" — as it demanded that the Russian Federation "immediately cease" its use of force against Ukraine and refrain from any further unlawful threat or use of force against any Member State.
It said it also "deplored the attacks of the Russian Federation aimed at commercial vessels, their seizures, including Search-and-Rescue vessels, threatening the safety and welfare of seafarers and the marine environment."
The scenario, it added, highlighted the importance of maintaining seafarers' safety and welfare, and it urged member nations to provide the highest level of assistance as the Council underscored the need to preserve the security of international shipping and the maritime community, and the supply chains that sustain other nations, as well as supply chains providing necessary food and medicines to the people of Ukraine.
The statement also noted how IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim expressed his grave concern regarding the spillover effects of the military action in Ukraine on global shipping, and logistics and supply chains, in particular, the impacts on the delivery of commodities and food to developing nations and the impacts on energy supplies.
In support of seafarers, the IMO Council called for ships to be allowed to sail safely from Ukrainian ports as a priority, and where this was not possible corridors were set up to allow seafarers to leave vessels and return home safely.
It also highlighted that ships, seafarers, and port workers engaged in legitimate trade "should not be collateral victims" in the political and military crisis.
