Statement
by the Head of the Shipping Administration of Ukraine
H.E. Mr. Vitalii KINDRATIV at the 106th session of the
Maritime Safety Committee
02/11/2022
Madam Chair,
I avail myself of this opportunity to draw a clear picture of the current state of affairs in Ukraine’s maritime sector and the challenges facing not only my country but also the entire international community because of the lasting Russian aggression.
Before 2014, when the infamous Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea happened, Ukraine was a flourishing state with the largest territory of the Black Sea coastline and a diversified maritime economic landscape, playing a central role in the development of the region, given its.
Apart from that Ukraine was one of the recognized largest suppliers of highly qualified specialists to the global maritime labor market.
All of a sudden, the situation had drastically changed.
Creation of impediments for commercial shipping, and numerous threats to the safety of navigation: interference in the operation of global navigation systems, misuse of NAVTEX channels, forced capture of lighthouses and regional Global Maritime Distress and Safety System centres, as well as Search and Rescue units – many of those brutal Russian violations have been lasting for almost 8 years.
24 February 2022 was just a beginning of a new round of escalation, marked by seizure and massive shelling of ships and ports infrastructure.
As a result, the majority of commercial ports in Ukraine are blocked. Several of them are utterly ruined.
Maritime security is a phantom now due to the Russian menace.
Many Ukrainian seafarers lost their jobs. Some of them changed their naval uniforms to military ones and stood up for their country.
These devastating effects of Russian invasion of Ukraine were recognized by the decisions taken by all IMO bodies during this year.
Madam Chair,
Even in such circumstances, we managed to achieve a certain breakthrough – the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
This allowed us to prevent the growing world food crisis and release the ships stranded in Ukrainian ports due the threat of Russian missile attacks, so that they can safely sail home.
Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, over 400 ships with almost 10 million tons of agricultural products left Ukrainian ports for the countries of Asia, Europe and Africa.
Ukrainian maritime services are doing their utmost to speed up cargo processing and facilitate the ships’ movement.
However, over these months Russia did almost everything to thwart the Initiative and put in jeopardy the food security of the entire world.
The most recent attempts were lengthy and indeed reluctant inspections of vessels.
There are more than a hundred examples when ships loaded with the foodstuffs so needed in the countries of their destination were forced to stay for over 2 weeks in the Bosporus awaiting inspection.
Russia’s unmotivated delays in inspections, accompanied by demands of new concessions, prevented the exportation of additional 3 million tons of grain. 10 million people in the world did not get food on time because of Russia's political ambitions.
Madam Chair,
As all words and deeds of Russian leadership prove, this terrorist state has not abandoned its plans to wage a devastating war against Ukraine, no matter what.
While Ukraine is confronting the Russian threat on the battlefield, I plea to all our partners to step up their fight against this scourge on the diplomatic and economic fronts:
- to strengthen the existing sanctions regimes;
- to deny the registration of vessels owned by Russian-affiliated companies under your national flag;
- to investigate the possible involvement of your national companies in Russia’s criminal activities, like the illicit trafficking of Ukraine’s grain;
- to do everything to prevent the aggressor state from enjoying the privileges of the membership in this respectable Organization.
Russia must bear responsibility for all damaged destinies and ruined infrastructure.
Ukraine will restore everything by coordinating efforts with such respected organizations like the IMO. With your assistance, we can even become a launching ground for innovations in the maritime domain.
One I am confident of is that our seas will never be calm for invaders.
Madam Chair,
There is nothing more valuable than the protection of human life, especially at sea.
Based on this understanding and guided by the outcome of the last session of Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue in June this year, Ukraine decided to introduce a proposal to consider the adoption of a resolution during this Committee’s session related to the operation of Search-and-Rescue (SAR) services during the armed conflict.
We would appreciate it if the Committee supports our call to establish a drafting group comprised of like-minded states to consider a relevant draft document.
To our firm belief, the future resolution should encompass principled points on the impermissibility of:
- seizing of SAR units, Rescue Coordination Centres (RCC) and Rescue Sub Centres (RSC);
- detaining crew members of SAR vessels and RCC/RSC personnel;
- preventing SAR crafts from performing their functions, as envisaged by relevant conventions and Global SAR plan;
- hampering the effective coordination of SAR operations.
It may also include other elements from a wider range of aspects of the protection of human life at sea that this Committee considers necessary to reflect in the draft.
This step would further strengthen the role of the IMO, and the Committee in particular, in maintaining the international maritime order and safety of life at sea.
I thank you for your attention.