News / Russia's maritime lawyers call for an end to war in Ukraine

Konstantin Krasnokutskiy, RUMLA president

In an admirably courageous move, the Russian Maritime Law Association (RUMLA) has issued a statement calling for an end to the conflict in Ukraine and a return to “reason and legal mechanisms to resolve” disputes.

Association president Konstantin Krasnokutskiy said yesterday its members were opposed to the war and called for an “immediate termination of all military action”.

RUMLA said: “We believe there is no legal or political justification that would allow troops to enter the territory of another state. Any military actions result in the loss of lives. We cannot and will not support or justify human suffering. The decision to launch the military actions is contrary to the interests of both Russia and Ukraine, and humanity.”

While the RUMLA statement was chiefly concerned with the human suffering, The Loadstar asked what consequences were being felt in Russia as a consequence of the invasion of its neighbour.

Mr Krasnokutskiy responded with a detailed outline of the effects on Russian maritime enterprises and the movement of goods, due to western sanctions. Some of the most difficult include the banning of all Russia-flagged and Russia-controlled vessels from most of the world’s ports.

However, the country itself has very few containerships and perhaps the more difficult restriction on domestic commerce is the cessation of maritime operations by the world’s leading container lines that have suspended operations to and from Russia, including Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, said Mr Krasnokutskiy.

“The foreign operators performed all voyages to ports in the north-west and south of Russia. They own more than half of the containers involved in the Russian market,” he explained.

Another major blow for the Russian maritime sector has been the decision by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to exclude the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) from IACS on 11 March.

“Many insurance contracts contain a requirement that the vessel shall be classified by an IACS member, which affects the performance of the insurance contract. Depending on the contract’s terms, the insurer may be entitled to withdraw unilaterally from it.

“As far as new insurance contracts are concerned, it might be more complicated to obtain insurance cover or be forced to pay an increased premium for the RMRS-certified vessels,” Mr Krasnokutskiy told The Loadstar.

Most of these vessels will be tankers and bulk carriers, and this will have a profound effect on the Russian economy in time, given that energy is Russia’s major export and, with maritime costs rising substantially, it will be inevitable that the cost of shipping to and from Russia will increase too.

However, RUMLA’s motivation in writing to the western media was to express their sorrow for those affected by the war and to show that not all Russian people support Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Security firm Dryad Global today reported that the Turkish military had destroyed three Ukrainian mines in the Black Sea that had floated on currents to the northern end of the Bosphorus waterway that links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and, ultimately, the Mediterranean.

“The appearance of mines led to the temporary closure of the Bosporus and a ban on night fishing in the area. The Turkish navy has stepped up its air and sea operations to find them,” said a Dryad report.

Shipping in the Black Sea region has been advised to proceed with caution.