Representatives of the Embassy of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Shipping Administration took part in the meeting.
Fair treatment of seafarers in case of abandonment was discussed as a priority. The Ukrainian delegation presented a document with concrete actions to address this issue, in particular suggesting the following:
- updating the ILO/IMO joint database of abandonment of seafarers;
- providing up-to-date information on national contact points that can be contacted for repatriation;
- conducting information campaigns aimed at raising seafarers’ awareness of financial security in the event of abandonment.
The proposals were supported by the Legal Committee. IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez emphasized that he would personally address flag states or port states with a request to provide assistance and facilitation for repatriation, if necessary.
The Committee also approved a resolution on the adoption of the Guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers detained in connection with alleged crimes.
The delegation of Ukraine raised the issue of the impact of russian aggression on shipping in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The participants noted the importance of the meetings in Jeddah, which could contribute to security in the Black Sea, if russia complies with its international obligations. Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland (on behalf of the European Union) and the United Kingdom supported Ukraine.
Participants paid special attention to the problem of fraudulent registration and fraudulent registries of ships. It was decided to improve the IMO guidelines and best practices on this issue.
The Member States initiated the Regulatory Scoping Exercise (RSE) to identify the loopholes in international conventions in terms of the use of substandard ships and the “shadow fleet”.
The representatives of Ukraine joined the Working Group on the development of the terms of reference for the intersessional correspondence group. If approved by the IMO Council in July 2025, it will review IMO instruments and other documents in the field of substandard shipping and present the results at the next session of the IMO Legal Committee.
Among other issues discussed were the ratification of the 2010 HNS Protocol, legal aspects of the use of autonomous surface ships and the implementation of conventions on liability and compensation.
