Seafarer welfare must be top priority as war engulfs Ukraine

THE war now raging in Eastern Europe has already had a massive impact on the global shipping industry. As I write this, 2 ships have been lost to hostile action off Ukraine's coast and 1 seafarer killed.

Shipping markets have been severely disrupted while commodity markets are in turmoil and the Russian-owned fleet has effectively been banned from trading in much of the world. However, this column will focus on the seafarers who will be greatly affected by this conflict. They should be the first priority.

It has been widely quoted that 14.5 per cent of the world's seafarers are Ukrainian or Russian. In other words, many of those manning the global commercial fleet, and often complete crews, are either going worried sick about what is going on at home or find themselves stuck on ships hit by embargoes. Moreover, the UK-based welfare organisation Sailors' Society says as many as 1 in 5 officers are thought to be Ukrainian. It points out many crews will find themselves serving under officers concerned about their homeland and families.