Shipping industry calls for help to evacuate over 300 seafarers still trapped in Ukraine ports

32 organisations from across the world of shipping have called on UN Secretary General António Guterres to help in freeing seafarers trapped by the Ukraine war.

The open letter has called on Guterres to use his diplomatic influence to address the matter urgently and to help evacuate the 331 seafarers still trapped on vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

“Our seafarers are the heart of our industry and cannot be forgotten,” the letter states. “For 12 months now they have been caught up in a crisis far beyond their control. Simply doing their jobs cannot come at the expensive of their lives.”