Across the northern and western edges of the Black Sea merchant shipping faces the vagaries of war, with vessels increasingly avoiding the region.
Russia has been attacking Ukrainian ports and grain export sites along the Black Sea and the Danube hard in the two and a half weeks since it quit a United Nations-brokered grain shipping pact.
Aware of pressing security issues towards its annexed Crimea region, Russia’s defence ministry said yesterday that it had imposed restrictions on the movement of ships and aircraft in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.
“Navigation of all ships and watercraft, vehicles under water, anchoring, splashing down and flying aircraft, the presence of people in the water and other activities are prohibited in the area limited by the coastline… with the exception of ships following the fairways and recommended routes through the Kerch Strait in transit or to ports located in the Kerch Strait,” the defense ministry said.
Additionally, the Russian defense ministry said a special inspection area has been created for ships sailing from the Black Sea.
Russia had announced on July 19 that it will start considering all vessels travelling on the Black Sea heading to Ukrainian ports as “potential military cargo carriers”, declaring a number of areas in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the international waters of the Black Sea as “temporarily dangerous for navigation”.
Russian forces launched a new drone attack yesterday morning on southern Ukraine’s coastal Odesa region, including the Danube River port of Izmail, targeting infrastructure on a crucial alternative route for grain shipments amid Moscow’s blockage of Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis called Russia’s repeated attacks on Ukraine’s Danube infrastructure near Romania “unacceptable.”
“Russia’s continued attacks against the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on Danube, in the proximity of Romania, are unacceptable. These are war crimes and they further affect capacity to transfer their food products towards those in need in the world,” Iohannis said on social media.
Russian president Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday that Moscow was ready to return to the Black Sea grain deal as soon as the West met its obligations with regard to Russia’s own grain exports.
Russia’s grain and fertiliser exports are not subject to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its military actions in Ukraine. But Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have been a barrier to shipments.
Erdogan’s office said the Turkish leader had emphasised the importance of avoiding steps that could jeopardise the resumption of the Black Sea grain deal, which he described as a “bridge of peace”.
Issues around the Black Sea, issues in the Gulf of Guinea…mariners can’t seem to get a break.
Hi fellow blogger.
We in Australia are nowhere near these waters that we are talking about but we are worried sick. Human Rights breaches galore are no doubt happening in those waters. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are doing articles on the war in Ukraine, stuff happening in the South China Sea etc etc. we non defence forces people can’t really do much other than to be vigilant and aware of our surroundings and report any untoward behaviours we notice
We can get latest conditions on shipping routes and ports as booking cargo in and out to/fro is our job. Specially regions like Black Sea, restriction in navigation due to ongoing war .
Emergence of new lines and lines facing problems help companies in the shipping industry on their line of action etc.
Hello Captain.
I hope that you and your fellow Captains are okay as well as your ships’ respective embarked crews in an around the Black Sea and near Iran.
Please encourage your fellow Mariners to be vigilant and keep well, keep safe and stay strong. I just hope the dickens this naval war that is happening is contained to 1 area and doesn’t go global