On Thursday, Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea to free cargo ships trapped in its ports since the onset of the war after Moscow abandoned the grain deal, which permitted Kyiv to export grain, last month.
According to the statement, the routes will allow ships to enter and exit Ukrainian ports despite Russia’s military threat and mining risk.
Ukraine will create a humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 10, 2023
It will allow dozens of cargo ships stuck in the Black Sea ports after the start of the war to leave.
After Russia withdrew from the grain deal on July 17, it declared all ships that go to the ports of Ukraine as… pic.twitter.com/WOchxfSNvc
Ukraine’s ‘Humanitarian Corridor’
The newly arranged corridor would apply to vessels, such as container ships, that have been stranded in Ukrainian ports since the Russian invasion in February 2022, and were not covered by the arrangement that permitted the ports to export grain shipments last year.
The Ukrainian Navy claimed in a statement that Ukraine had already put forward the routes directly to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
The routes would be “primarily used for civilian ships, which have been in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdennyi since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022.”
However, the statement said that hazards from mines and the military threat from Russia still existed. “Vessels whose owners/captains officially confirm that they are ready to sail in the current conditions will be allowed to pass through the routes,” it stated.
Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy stated, “the corridor will be very transparent, we will put cameras on the ships, and there will be a broadcast to show that this is purely a humanitarian mission and has no military purpose.”
According to reports, over 60 commercial ships have remained stranded in Ukrainian ports since Russia’s invasion despite the deal that permitted grain shipments to resume in July last year.
Shipping and insurance industries expressed serious concerns about the feasibility of this new route, especially in light of Russia’s recent termination of the grain deal, as reported by sources.
“The possibility of multiple seafarer deaths [in the event of a ship being hit] has not been addressed, so this is another major question,” said a shipping industry source.
🚨Update: Russia has declared that any ship traveling to and from Ukrainian ports will be considered as possible carriers of military equipment and thus subject to confiscation or attack.
— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) July 19, 2023
The Black Sea near Ukraine is now part of the war zone. They have been warned!! pic.twitter.com/DPo24uCpD6
Russia’s Military Threats
Russia has warned that all vessels headed to Ukrainian ports will be considered military threats, signifying its intention to reimpose a naval blockade on Ukraine.
The statement follows Russia’s decision last month to withdraw from a UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukrainian Black Sea grain shipments to continue despite the ongoing conflict.
The Russian defence ministry warned, “All vessels heading to Ukrainian ports in Black Sea waters will be regarded as potentially carrying military cargo.” “The countries whose flags such vessels are carrying will be regarded as ones involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of Kyiv,” the ministry added.
In response to Moscow’s warnings, Ukraine has similarly warned that all ships arriving at Russian-controlled Black Sea ports “may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the relevant risks.”