Ukraine: vessel sunk, seafarer killed, IMO calls extraordinary session

In a separate incident, a Bangladeshi seafarer on a Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) vessel was killed while on watch duty when his vessel was hit by a shell in the Ukrainian port of Olivia.

Third engineer on the handy-sized bulker vessel Banglar Samriddhi (Prosperity of Bengal), Hadisur Rachman, reportedly was killed when the shell exploded in the ship’s bridge. 

The 28 remaining crew members on board survived and doused a fire that resulted from the explosion.

Local media in Bangladesh have been reporting on the seafarers, whose vessel has been stranded at the port in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region on the Dnipro-Bug estuary on the northern Black Sea coast since Russia started its invasion of Ukraine.

The seafarers have since been shuttled to shore by a tug, with intentions to evacuate the seafarers to Moldova from Ukraine, according to Bangladesh’s largest daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Star.

On 2 March, the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) designated areas in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov as ‘Warlike Operations Areas’, triggering an increased security level and other entitlements for seafarers in the war zone.

"The JNG and ITF as social partners, negotiate and ensure application of the International Bargaining Forum agreement, which is the only international collective bargaining agreement covering terms and conditions for seafarers in international trade on over 9,000 ships," the group said.

IBF Warlike Operations Areas were designated for the Sea of Azov (north of latitude 46°N), the northern Black Sea region and all ports in Ukraine. Under this classification, seafarers on board IBF-covered ships are entitled to receive: a bonus equal to basic wage, payable for 5 days minimum and per day if longer; doubled compensations for death and disability; right to refuse sailing, with repatriation at company’s cost and compensation equal to two month’s basic wage. Vessels are recommended to operate at International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Level 3, according to the agreement. ISPS levels, developed by IMO, are a set of security measures applicable to ships and port facilities worldwide. At Level 3, exceptional, security incidents are considered to be imminent, requiring specific security measures to be implemented and maintained until the threat level is lowered.
"Due to the rapidly developing situation these designations will be revisited on a two-weekly basis to review the period of validity and, if necessary, the terms and conditions as well as the co-ordinates," the ITF said.

A Joint War Committee circular dated 15 February 2022 stated that Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov had been added to listed areas prone to "Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils" and that "the application of this list on individual contracts will be a matter for specific negotiation".

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