UN to work on safe corridor for ships stranded by Ukraine conflict
(Reuters) — The United Nations’ shipping agency said Friday it will seek to create a safe maritime corridor to enable merchant ships and their crews stuck in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to sail away without the risk of being hit.
Russia's military took control of waterways when it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, in what Moscow calls a “special operation.”
Ukrainian maritime officials have told Reuters fighting has left around 100 foreign-flagged vessels and hundreds of mariners stranded in Ukrainian ports.
Last week a seafarer was killed at the Ukrainian port of Olvia after a missile struck his Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship. Projectiles have hit four other vessels in recent days with one sunk.
The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization convened a virtual meeting Thursday and Friday to discuss the escalating situation.
A statement afterward said the IMO's Secretary-General Kitack Lim “indicated his commitment to take immediate action to realize the blue safe maritime corridor with the cooperation and collaboration of the relevant parties including littoral states.”
It said a maritime corridor would “allow the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships from the high-risk and affected areas in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to a safe place.”
Ukraine has accused the Russian military of targeting Olvia port facilities in a missile strike, while Russia’s embassy in Dhaka said last week the circumstances of the incident involving the Bangladesh ship were “being established.” Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians.
