Crews are more likely to refuse to enter Ukraine: shipowners are looking for replacements for Sulina

Shipowners operating in the Ukrainian direction are increasingly facing problems with crew recruitment.

Some seafarers refuse to enter Ukraine, and finding a replacement is becoming more difficult. This was reported by Avalon Shipping Operations Manager Kateryna Kononenko in a comment to USM.

According to her, after a sharp increase in freight for traders, another factor of uncertainty has appeared on the market – crews.

“There are more and more cases when crew members refuse to enter Ukraine. Finding a replacement is now becoming a real challenge,” Kononenko noted.

She reported that recently Avalon Shipping has seen a significant increase in the number of requests for crew changes on Sulina. Shipowners are interested in the crew change procedure and are clarifying the details of its implementation.

At the same time, according to Kononenko, in many cases there is no replacement yet, since crew members do not want to go to Ukraine.

This creates additional risks for already planned voyages. Vessels may be booked, laycans agreed, and cargo planned, but the crew issue is becoming a new factor that can affect the execution of the voyage.

This problem may be especially noticeable on the Danube, where each berth is scheduled in advance, and the queue for the vessel to be placed is of critical importance.

“Losing your call date means new delays, postponing cargo operations, and rebuilding the entire logistics chain,” Kononenko emphasized.

According to her, charterers can still book transportation from the Danube to Egypt at around $50 per ton on the market, but the crew issue adds new operational uncertainty to shipowners.

USM previously reported that there is no excitement on the Danube despite the attacks on Ukrainian ports.