The Russian Federation will not allow Ukrainian sailors into its ports

The Russians will prohibit Ukrainian sailors from changing crews in Russian ports.

The immigration service of Ust-Luga announced that starting at 00:01 on October 16, local time, all vessels with Ukrainian citizens on board will be placed at the end of the queue for entry, customs clearance or loading.

Also, the Russians will prohibit Ukrainians from going on shore leave to change the crew. To avoid delays, all Ukrainians should be checked out before arriving at Russian ports.

The Russian Federation once again grossly violates the norms of international law and the rights of Ukrainian sailors. The adoption of the order endangers the possible change of the crew and the repatriation of Ukrainian sailors in Russian ports, according to the Trade Union of Maritime Transport Workers of Ukraine .

It is quite expected that the migration authorities of Russia may not provide access to the necessary medical care and hospitalization in medical institutions in Russian ports.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian sailors continue to struggle with the need to call at Russian ports. From the beginning of the full-scale war, PRMTU demanded crewing and shipowners not to send sailors to Russian ports. But all appeals are of an exclusively advisory nature, so the fate of sailors from Ukraine is entirely in the hands of their employers.

Despite crewing companies’ claims about the “safety of Russian ports”, the Russian FSB regularly checked cabins, telephones and computers on ships where Ukrainians were.

In April 2022, it became known that a sailor from Kherson, Vadym Ignashev, was kidnapped from the ship MSC Riccarda II in Vladivostok. According to relatives, the man was sentenced to prison in Russia.