The commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, has banned merchant ships carrying explosive substances from entering Ukraine's territorial waters and ports during the state of martial law.
This information is stated in a 7 July letter from Neizhpapa to the state-owned Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), the CFTS portal reports, citing the publication NV Business.
The document states: "To prevent a man-made disaster resulting from an enemy attack on a ship, vehicle, or storage facilities containing hazardous cargo, we propose taking measures to prevent the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority from approving (granting permits) the entry of ships carrying cargoes of ammonia-based substances into Ukrainian ports, or the loading, unloading, or storage of such substances in ports."
The document also recommends that the USPA not include such vessels in schedules for calls at Ukrainian seaports. For the vessels that have already arrived, the document recommends unloading them in neighboring countries "that are not attacked by the enemy."
Neizhpapa stressed in the letter that these recommendations apply to anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, ammonia solutions, and other mixtures containing explosive substances.
In response to the ban, the Chornomorsk Port Authority's head Oleksii Maliarenko sent a letter to shipping agents and port operators on 9 July.
Maliarenko’s letter asked them to take note of this information and communicate it "to all interested parties involved in the import, handling, and storage of ammonia-based explosives in ports."
Although the letters from the Navy and the USPA are advisory, Ukrainian seaports have stopped accepting or unloading such cargo. A decision to ban the import of these substances by sea requires government approval.
Market participants interested in importing nitrogen fertilizers are now considering alternative methods of delivering explosive products to Ukraine, including delivery by rail from European ports.
