Shipowners have started to ask the crews of ships stranded off the Ukrainian coast to leave.
M.T. Maritime has evacuated 22 Filipino seafarers from its oil tanker MTM Rio Grande and left the ship unmanned in the Ukrainian port of Nika-Tera. The crew is currently in Romania awaiting a return flight to the Philippines, the company announced. The Ukrainian ports were closed on 24 February when the Russian troops began their invasion. At least five of the 140 ships stuck in the country's waters were damaged by shelling. One Bangladeshi sailor was killed.
As the fierce fighting continues, ship owners have to deal with dwindling food supplies and the likelihood of prolonged hostilities. Some owners see no other way out than to ask crews to leave.
It is estimated that there are more than 1,000 seafarers on board ships stuck in Ukraine, some of them with cargo still on board. The ships - including tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships and a container ship - cannot leave because there are no harbour pilots to guide them out in the face of the danger from missiles and mines.
GCaptain , Bloomberg
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