With Russia targeting shipping and port infrastructure over the past month for the first time this year, Ukrainian authorities are seeking help from the United Nations, asking the International Maritime Organization to send a monitoring mission.
Splash has reported on four international merchant ships coming under attack over the past five weeks, the first confirmed strikes on commercial vessels since November last year.
“Amid increased Russian terror, Ukraine has officially appealed to the International Maritime Organization to immediately send an international monitoring mission to the ports,” foreign minister Andrii Sybiha told a briefing in Odesa after meeting his counterparts from the Nordic-Baltic Eight group yesterday.
In a post on social media last week as attacks intensified, Sybiha wrote: “This is a deliberate terrorist tactic. We must join forces of all responsible states and organisations to…ensure freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and global food security.”
“Vessels operating in the Black Sea should conduct comprehensive dynamic voyage threat assessments,” maritime security consultant Ambrey said in a recent advisory note, adding: “Vessels calling in Ukraine should review their emergency response protocols for attacks on Ukrainian ports. During aerial attacks on port infrastructure, crew members should remain inside the vessel’s superstructure.”
Since July 2023, when the United Nations-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative fell apart, Ukraine has managed to create an export corridor that sees vessels leave the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny to go either via the Danube or hug the coastlines of Bulgaria and Romania to head to international markets.
Before these recent strikes, Ukraine’s grain exports had been running at their fastest pace since the beginning of the conflict with Russia.
Analysis from broker Braemar shows that grain exports from the Black Sea have seen a considerable shift in age profile, with older vessels predominating.
The share of bulkers aged 20+ years has expanded to more than a third this year from around 15% in 2020, the majority small handysizes of 20,000 to 34,900 dwt and older panamaxes.
Conversely, bulkers of less than 10 years of age have seen their market share in this trade slump from almost half in 2020 to just 10% over the last five years.
