Ukraine/Russia. Exclusive: cargo ships and sailors hostages of the war

August 2, 2022 update: detailed information on bulk carriers leaving or approaching the ukrainian ports in the context of the international agreement on the freedom of trade in grain and other agri-food products from Ukraine linked https://robindesbois.org/en/ukraine-robin-des-bois-veille-aux-grains/ ^[1]

93 merchant ships are trapped in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Transit would risk exposing them to bombing, torpedoing and underwater mining, therefore they are stuck at berth. 81% of the ships docked between February 17th and 23rd arrived at the ports on the eve of the outbreak of the war.

For the 1,200 to 1,500 seamen held hostages, there is no humanitarian convoy. Most of them have been on board for several months under long-term contracts and in a Covid context where crew changes were slowed down or prevented by health and vaccination constraints. The seafarers may be African, Indian, Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Chinese, Turkish or nationals of European Union countries bordering the Black Sea. Some Filipino seamen would have been exfiltrated and repatriated. The solidarity that is most often shown towards abandoned crews cannot be mobilized in these circumstances. Manning agencies, many of which are based in Odessa, are bankrupt and unpaid salaries can subject entire families into misery.

Some ships may have Ukrainian as well as Russian crewmen.

As already observed by Robin des Bois, several ships operating exclusively in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea fly lowest-ranked flags such as those of Tanzania, Cameroon, Belize, Palau and would not be accepted in European ports on the Atlantic coast. They should have been scrapped many years ago.

 

^[2]Map of the sunken ships and cargo ships stuck in the Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov since February 24th, 2022.
Click to enlarge ^[2]

 

 

 

 

MARIUPOL

Around 2,500 cargo ships per year. Annual shipments: 17 million tons. Grain, iron, ore, and coal. Average depth: 8 meters. Vessels’ maximum length: 250 meters.

 

IMO	Ship	Category	Flag	Length (m)	Age
9387748	Azov Concord	General cargo carrier	Malta	141	14 years
9375159	Blue Star I	General cargo carrier	Panama	96	17 years
9163568	Lady Augusta	General cargo carrier	Jamaica	105	24 years
9396567	Smarta	Bulker	Liberia	148	15 years
9145231	Tzarevna	Bulker	Malta	168	18 years

 

BERDYANSK

In the hinterland of Zaporijia. Main shipments: oil products, grain (1.5 million de tons/year), and containers. The port is occupied by the Russian navy. The Saratov suffered a fire and an explosion on March 24th, 2022.

IMO	Ship	Category	Flag	Length (m)	Age
8516835	Rusen Mete	General cargo carrier	Sierra Leone	125	34 years

 

 

KHERSON

Dniepr estuary. Main shipments: fertilizers, chemicals, grain, wood and peat, and metal.

 

IMO	Ship	Category	Flag	Length (m)	Age
8228036	Alfa Orionis	General cargo carrier	Comoros	114	38 years
8520824	Amadore	Bulker	Malta	143	35 years
8958980	Dneprovets 3	General cargo carrier	Ukraine	87	33 years
8935263	Dneprovets 5	General cargo carrier	Ukraine	89	32 years
9071636	Ferahnaz	General cargo carrier	Vanuatu	94	27 years
8512047	Kuruoglu 3	General cargo carrier	Turkey	109	32 years
8888874	Oltenitsa	General cargo carrier	Ukraine	135	34 years
8856261	Palladiy	General cargo carrier	Comoros	139	38 years
9229879	Rek Noble	Bulker	Panama	155	20 years
9368601	Rhine River	General cargo carrier	Panama	122	15 years
9414735	Sabrina	General cargo carrier	Liberia	128	16 years
8314885	Sea Lord	General cargo carrier	Belize	145	36 years
8728036	Selim	General cargo carrier	Tanzania	114	43 years
8841541	Slavutich-15	General cargo carrier	Ukraine	109	32 years
7942128	Steel Cougar	General cargo carrier	Panama	114	42 years
7920364	Tuzla	General cargo carrier	Vanuatu	86	42 years

 

 

MYKOLAIV

Access channel: 11 meters deep. Annual shipments: around 10 million tons. Coal, iron, fertilizers, grain, and oil products. Military and civilian shipbuilding yards. Construction of the Potemkin and the Slava, now renamed Moskva which sank offshore on April 14th, 2022.

 

IMO	Ship	Category	Flag	Length (m)	Age
9193707	Alby Liberty	Bulker	Panama	186	22 years
9224843	Araya	Bulker	Malta	170	21 years
9793832	Banglar Samridhi	Bulker	Bangladesh	180	4 years
9691632	Bolten Ithaki	Bulker	Marshall Islands	180	8 years
9301342	Cengiz Bey	General cargo carrier	St Vincent and the Grenadines	115	18 years
9154012	Chariana L	Bulker	Marshall Islands	190	25 years
8958978	Dneprovets 2	General cargo carrier	Ukraine	87	34 years
9185853	Dong Fu Shan	Tanker	China	148	23 years
9558153	Filia Joy	Bulker	Panama	190	13 years
8117847	Haci Emine Ana	General cargo carrier	Palau	118	38 years
9389502	Harald Maersk	Tanker	Danemark	180	13 years
9512161	Ithaca Prospect	Bulker	Panama	171	13 years
9427392	Mallard S	Bulker	Liberia	157	12 years
9464534	Marika	Bulker	Liberia	169	14 years
8418758	Maryland	Bulker	Liberia	180	30 years
9314911	MTM Rio Grande	Tanker	Singapore	183	15 years
9129627	New Challenge	Bulker	Belize	163	26 years
9561899	Oceanic Island	Bulker	Malta	171	12 years
9353072	Orion S	General cargo carrier	Palau	140	17 years
9288540	Panda	Bulker	Panama	171	18 years
8311522	Skymoon 1	General cargo carrier	Moldavia	82	38 years
9774707	Spring Ploeg	Tanker	Cayman Islands	146	5 years
9917490	Star Pavlina	Bulker	Liberia	229	1 year
9370135	Sun Aquamarine	General cargo carrier	Marshall Islands	177	14 years
9416056	TRF Miami	Tanker	Marshall Islands	147	14 years
8711772	Vostochnyy	Tanker	Ukraine	78	34 years
8213732	Zeybek	General cargo carrier	Moldova	106	38 years

 

 

 

YUZHNY

The deepest port in Ukraine (14.5 meters). Main shipments: ammonium nitrate, methanol, urea, grain, and coal (5 million tons/year).

 

IMO	Ship	Category	Flag	Length (m)	Age
9231286	Bonita	Bulker	Liberia	225	21 years
9497842	Filia Glory	Bulker	Panama	190	11 years
9737149	Global Aglaia	General cargo carrier	Marshall Islands	180	6 years
9581239	Maran Astronomer	Bulker	Greece	292	10 years
9703241	Maran Excellence	Bulker	Malta	292	6 years
9711937	Nord Virgo	Bulker	Panama	229	8 years
9465198	Ocean Courtesy	Bulker	Marshall Islands	292	14 years
9497000	Sacura	Bulker	Liberia	139	11 years
9328936	Star Laura	Bulker	Marshall Islands	229	16 years

 

 

ODESSA

The first Ukrainian commercial port. Depth: 13 meters/12 meters. Oil terminal (12 meters deep / tankers up to 250 meters in length). Oil storage capacity: 700,000 m3. Grain terminal (3.5 million tons/year). 671,000 containers in 2021.

 

IMO	Ship	Category	Flag	Length (m)	Age
9146106	Comet	Bulker	Liberia	113	25 years
9605243	Joseph Schulte	Container ship	Hong Kong	300	9 years
9005895	Kapten Sevdet	General cargo carrier	Turkey	81	30 years
9590979	Navi Star	Bulker	Panama	180	11 years
9310757	Polarstar	Bulker	Liberia	177	16 years
9748265	Puma	Bulker	Cayman Islands	180	5 years
9086526	Razoni	Bulker	Sierra Leone	187	26 years
9301196	Riva Wind	Bulker	Marshall Islands	190	17 years
9194464	Sea Luck	Bulker	Panama	134	23 years

 

 

CHORNOMORSK

The second commercial port. Main shipments: oil products, sunflower oil export, and tropical oil import.

 

IMO	Ship	Category	Flag	Length (m)	Age
8227783	Afanasiy Matyushenko	General cargo carrier	Ukraine	114	38 years
9592733	Arizona	Bulker	Liberia	190	12 years
8611984	Cenk Car	Car carrier	Malta	95	36 years
7382366	Cenk M	Ro Ro	Comoros	168	47 years
9608415	Da Liang	General cargo carrier	China	180	8 years
9218387	Emmakris III	Bulker	Panama	225	22 years
9288473	Glory	Bulker	Marshall Islands	225	17 years
8311912	Greifswald	Passenger Ro Ro	Panama	191	33 years
8914697	I Maria	Bulker	Belize	181	31 years
8311924	Kaunas	Passenger Ro Ro	Panama	191	33 years
9512317	Key Knight	Bulker	Liberia	229	10 years
9453614	Meroving	General cargo carrier	Malta	140	13 years
9736690	Mustafa Necati	Chemical tanker	Liberia	140	7 years
9296248	Ocean Lion	Bulker	Liberia	225	17 years
9758961	Polarnet	General cargo carrier	Turkey	136	6 years
9133757	Propus	General cargo carrier	Panama	126	25 years
8604228	Punta Nera	Tanker	Cameroon	52	36 years
9550852	Rahmi Yagc	General cargo carrier	Turkey	110	3 months
9318400	Ramus	General cargo carrier	Cook Islands	100	17 years
9754927	Rojen	Bulker	Malta	185	3 years
9317145	S Breeze	Bulker	Liberia	190	16 years
8133578	Sormovskiy-121	General cargo carrier	Belize	114	40 years
9361213	Star Helena	Bulker	Marshall Islands	229	16 years
9400588	Thoe	Bulker	Marshall Islands	136	16 years
8623999	Vasiliy Bozhenko	General cargo carrier	Ukraine	114	38 years
8230962	Volgoneft-268	Tanker	Cameroon	132	43 years