IMO Extraordinary Council Session has been held to discuss the impacts on shipping and seafarers of the situation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
The IMO Council made the following decisions:
Extraction:
The Council welcomed the proposal that a number of steps should be taken to reduce the suffering of seafarers and their families, as follows:
- as a priority, ships should be allowed to sail form the ports of Ukraine at the earliest opportunity without threat of attack;
- for those ships that cannot leave immediately, or where it would be unsafe to do so due to the presence of sea mines or other hazards, humanitarian corridors should be set up that enable the safety of seafarers by allowing them to leave the conflict zone and return home, as appropriate;
- any form of harassment of seafarers due to their nationality should be condemned;
- seafarers affected by the conflict should be allowed free access to communications with their families;
- States should ensure that seafarers are able to access their wages;
- States should acknowledge the key worker status of seafarers and allow their unrestricted movement;
- taking into account the key worker status of seafarers, States involved should strongly consider exempting their seafarers from mandatory military service; and
- where port State control officers are presented with expired documentation, a pragmatic approach to the inspection should be taken, considering the exceptional nature of the situation.
