Representatives of the Shipping Administration and the State Hydrographic Service of Ukraine participated in person in the 113th session of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (LEG 113), which took place from 13 to 17 April 2026 in London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Pursuant to the agenda, the Committee considered issues related to ship registration practices, fair treatment of seafarers in emergency situations, liability and compensation regime for alternative fuels, as well as security situation in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Middle East.
The Ukrainian delegation actively participated in discussions during the plenary sessions, making ten substantive statements. Specifically, the Committee’s attention was drawn to the ongoing need to involve the states of nationality / permanent residence of seafarers for successful resolution of abandonment cases, the number of which continues to grow year after year.
Accordingly, document LEG 113/5(a) was presented, highlighting the special maritime corridor operation in the Black Sea and containing detailed information on strikes against merchant ships, Ukrainian port and coastal infrastructure by the russian federation. A number of delegations – Australia, Canada, Cyprus (on behalf of the European Union), Japan, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission – demonstrated solidarity with Ukraine, calling for cessation of aggression of the russian federation and further implementation of resolution A.1183(33) “Impact of the russian armed invasion of Ukraine on international shipping”.
In addition, during the session, the IMO Secretariat distributed Circular Letter No. 5168, in which the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine informed the global maritime community about the russian shelling of the “Chornomorsk” and “Vylkove” vessel traffic service stations in early April 2026.
The Committee also confirmed that freedom of navigation violations in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz are unacceptable. The Ukrainian delegation, inter alia, emphasised the need for deescalation of the situation in order to preserve the life and health of seafarers, and expressed readiness to share experience with interested parties in establishing the effective operation of shipping routes amidst hostilities.
The main task of the Shipping Administration personnel within the Committee session was to represent Ukraine in the Working Group, established for detailed study of issues related to prevention of fraudulent ship registration and operation of fraudulent ship registries. During the development of the Guidelines on the Registration of Ships, the Ukrainian delegation, together with partners, ensured that the requirement to refer to national sanctions regimes, introduced against “shadow fleet” ships operating for the benefit of the russian federation, remained in the final text. In addition, the Working Group supported Ukraine’s proposal on the need for a reference to subparagraph (a) of paragraph 4 of Article 94 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which obliges flag states to conduct surveys of ships before their registration.
The specified Guidelines will soon be officially distributed by circular LEG.1/Circ., which is about to become the first step towards closing the gap of absence in international maritime law of valid provisions regarding the procedure for flag states to perform registration of merchant ships. At the same time, the Committee postponed, until the intersessional period and the next 114th session, further expansion of the Guidelines to include the purview of port states and coastal states, along with continuation of the comprehensive regulatory scoping exercise of IMO instruments to address the substandard shipping.
On the sidelines of the Committee’s plenary sessions, the Ukrainian delegation continued the efforts aimed at advocating for national interests at sea and attracting international technical assistance:
- Andrii Kashuba, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, together with representatives of the delegations of Panama and the United Kingdom, delivered a presentation named “Shadow Fleet and High-Risk Shipping: Addressing Maritime Safety and Legal Challenges”, proposing specific steps for comprehensive strengthening of control over vessels in question that finance the continuation of the russian federation’s aggression against Ukraine;
- an inaugural online meeting was organised for the “IMO for Ukraine” project, which is being implemented to improve the operation of the special maritime corridor in the Black Sea and provide expert support for the further recovery of the Ukrainian maritime sector;
- a bilateral working meeting was held between the Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine and IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Domínguez.
Within a separate formal reception on the sidelines of the Committee, the delegations of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden handed over documents on the consent to be bound by the Protocol of 2010 to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996 (HNS PROT 2010). Thus, this instrument, which complements the global regulatory framework for liability and compensation for pollution from seagoing ships, will be able to enter into force as early as November 2027.
More details on results of the 113th session of the Committee, as well as implementation of HNS PROT 2010, are available on the Organization’s official website.
The Shipping Administration underlines its readiness to continue promoting Ukraine’s positions during meetings of governing and working bodies of IMO.
