16 Mar The shipping industry is undergoing major changes
Actions must be held accountable
Most of the leading container lines have refused to cooperate with the Russian Federation, and will stop deliveries of goods in the near future. Selected voyages are still operating as the abrupt shutdown of the supply chain could exacerbate the congestion problem in Europe. These are the consequences of sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation, sharply increased insurance costs, and other regulatory and financial obstacles. Which followed in response to Russia’s actions against Ukraine after February 24th.
Consequences
According to a report by Windward, a leading analytics company in the maritime industry, of the approximately 44,000 cargo ships and tankers operating globally over the past two years, approximately 2,000 are owned by companies registered in Russia. This means that any ship owner, shipping company, trader or bank dealing with Russian companies is immediately at greater risk as they can all be blacklisted at any moment.
The situation in the ports of Ukraine
As for our Ukrainian ports, they are facing a flurry of attacks. Kherson, Mariupol, Odessa. The situation in the Black Sea zone is now very difficult.
According to the Sea shipping platform, as of March 15, 96 vessels remain in Ukrainian waters. Many of which remain stuck in the waters near the largest port of Ukraine – Odessa. And they cannot sail due to the fact that the waters in this region are now mined in order to protect against attack.
The International Maritime Organization held talks this week with Ukraine and Russia to create safe corridors and get stuck ships out. However, the results of the negotiations were not successful. Therefore, shipowners make decisions about the evacuation of their crews on their own.
Crew change
Regarding the crew change crisis, it is expected to get worse. It is not possible to move crews to or from Ukraine. And there is also an increase in the likelihood of conflicts between Russian and Ukrainian crews on ships and ashore. There have been reports of a number of Ukrainian crews wishing to prematurely cut off contacts in order to return home and join the army. But since Ukrainian airports and ports are now closed, this complicates the situation, and there is no chance to replace these crews with other sailors from Ukraine.
Now, in a new environment, each participant in the maritime supply chain and the maritime industry has to adapt and make sometimes difficult decisions.