On 14-17 April 2025 in Istanbul (the Republic of Türkiye), representatives of the Shipping Administration participated in the 25th meeting of the Port State Control Committee of the Black Sea MoU.
During the event, the Ukrainian delegation took a note of the Secretariat's report on the Committee's activities for 2024-2025 and discussed the improving of mechanisms of port state control, as well as comparative analysis of inspections and flag performance of the member Authorities to the Memorandum.
Status of membership of Maritime Administrations and observers, the progress in ratification of international conventions and the reports of Intersessional Working Groups were evaluated
Special attention was paid to ensuring control over the rectification of deficiencies detected during ship inspections and amending the provisions of the Memorandum.
The Committee members reviewed analytical materials on the results of Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) related to compliance with the requirements of the International Labor Organization (ILO) regarding crew wages and fire safety.
The participants of the meeting considered the possibility of defining the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, which comes into force on June 26, 2025, as a new relevant instrument under the Black Sea MoU.
The Ukrainian delegation presented the document PSCC25/16.5, which highlights the impact of the full-scale aggression of the russian federation on the safety of international navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The speech focused on the threats to the effective and safe fulfillment of Ukraine's port state control obligations. The representatives of the Shipping Administration called on the Black Sea Memorandum Committee and the participants of the meeting to the following:
- to demand the russian federation to cease its use of force against Ukrainian ports and merchant vessels and withdraw its armed forces from the internal and territorial waters of Ukraine;
- to consolidate supervision of compliance with IMO requirements on vessels flying the russian flag and on vessels, including oil tankers, sailing to or from russian ports and officially closed Ukrainian ports in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The meeting also provided a platform to discuss anti-corruption initiatives. A proposal was supported to improve the functionality of the websites of the national administrations of the Memorandum to report corruption cases related to port state control and to initiate anti-corruption training programs.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) presented to the participants a digital platform for electronic seafarer certificates.
During the session, the Ukrainian delegation expressed its acceptance of:
- imposing financial restrictions on national administrations that fail to pay their contributions over the past three fiscal years;
- establishing official social media accounts of the Memorandum;
- exploring the possibility of introduction of “cooperating membership” status in the Memorandum (based on the results of the work of the intersessional working group on geographic criteria and membership);
- expressed readiness to host exchange programs for port state control officers in Ukraine, however only on condition of the cessation of full-scale russian aggression to ensure a safe training process.
On the sidelines of the meeting, representatives of the Shipping Administration negotiated with Executive Director of the Bulgarian Maritime Administration Ventsislav Ivanov on the possible conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding on the mutual recognition of seafarers' certificates.
The participation of Ukraine in the Black Sea Memorandum Committee is an important step towards further integration into the international system of maritime safety and efficient fulfillment of international obligations in the field of port state control.
