Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, 331 seafarers from several countries have been stuck in Ukrainian seaports because they must keep manning their ships, and it is extremely dangerous for the ships to leave the ports.
This is stated in an article published in the Foreign Policy magazine, the CFTS portal reports.
According to the publication, nearly 800 (some sources say close to 1,000) seafarers from countries including India, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, the Philippines, and Bangladesh were trapped in Ukrainian seaports when the war started.
Some governments and shipping companies managed to evacuate crew members through various land routes and some foreign ships were able to leave Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the publication wrote. According to Natalie Shaw, the director of employment affairs for the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), over 300 foreign seafarers are unable to leave Ukrainian seaports.
“The ICS has proposed that the trapped vessels should be able to leave through the grain corridor, but Russia is unlikely to agree to such an arrangement,” the American publication wrote.
As reported earlier, for the first time since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian sailors were allowed to go on foreign voyages in August.
