Ukraine Announces Humanitarian Corridor For Ship Trapped In Black Sea Port

Illustration of civilian ships while crossing the Black Sea. (Wikimedia Commons/Mostafameraji)

JAKARTA - Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea on Thursday to release cargo ships trapped in its port since the outbreak of the war, as well as a Russian blockade since exiting the grain agreement last month.

For the initial stage, at least corridors will apply to ships such as container ships trapped in Ukrainian ports since the February 2022 invasion, and are not covered by deals opening ports for last year's grain shipments.

But, it could be a big test for Ukraine's ability to reopen sea routes, at a time when Russia tried to reimpose its de facto blockade, after canceling the seed deal last month. Delivery and sources of insurance expressed concern about safety.

In a statement, the Ukrainian navy said the route had been proposed by Ukraine directly to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The route "mainly will be used for civilian ships already in the ports of Chornomsk, Odesa and Pivdnny Ukraine since the start of the massive invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022."

"The ship whose owners/captains have officially confirmed that they are ready to sail under current conditions will be allowed to pass through the route," the statement said, adding that risks remain from mines and military threats from Russia.

Chalyk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian navy, told Reuters: "The corridors will be very transparent, we will install cameras on ships and there will be broadcasts to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose."

Meanwhile, Moscow did not immediately respond to the announcement.

"Safe navigation for merchant delivery is one of the benefits of the Black Sea Initiative, which we hope can be continued," said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq.

"International Humanitarian Law Obligations on land and sea must be enforced," he said

Meanwhile, sources of delivery and insurance close to Ukraine said they were not informed of the new corridor and there were questions about its continuity. It is unlikely that most ships agree to sail at this time, they said.

"Insurance and their supporting banks should agree and they may say we don't like the risk," said one of the insurance sources.

"The chances of the death of many sailors (if the ship is hit) have not been addressed, so this is another big question," said a source of the shipping industry.

It is known that about 60 commercial vessels have been stuck in Ukrainian ports since the Russian invasion, their fate has been unresolved by a deal that would allow the export of grains to resume in July last year.

Many crew members have been evacuated, leaving a locally employed Ukrainian staff to help guard the ship.

Since leaving the seed deal, Russia has said it will treat any ship approaching the Ukrainian port as a potential military vessel.

Kyiv has responded with similar threats to ships approaching Russia-controlled Ukrainian or Russian ports.

Separately, the United Nations said Russia's decision to step out of a deal was at risk of exacerbating the global food crisis, which was the most severely detrimental to poor countries, by withholding grains from one of the world's largest exporters.