The Ukraine effect podcast: Shipping’s continuing crewing crisis

Welcome to the second edition of a special Lloyd’s List Podcast series examining how the situation in Ukraine has had a lasting impact on different aspects of the shipping industry Chapter 2: The hostilities in Ukraine have left hundreds of seafarers held hostage, several dead and fundamentally affected the global supply of crew, but there are also longer term implications for the safety and security of crew that needs to be considered. Today’s edition of this special podcast series features Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping. To listen to the full series go to: http://bit.ly/3KbnQpS The shipping industry has had to adapt rapidly since Vladimir Putin ordered his tanks across the Ukrainian frontier a year ago. Entire trade lanes have been re-routed, the most extensive set of sanctions in living memory has been hastily constructed and a super-charged “dark fleet” of opaque operations has sprung up, forcing shipping to navigate an increasingly complex risk-and-compliance landscape. In this special podcast series, Lloyd’s List’s editorial team are joined by a cast of industry experts as they examine the lasting implications of the conflict in Ukraine for shipping. In this second edition of the podcast, we examine the last implications for seafarers. The hostilities in Ukraine have left hundreds of seafarers held hostage. Some have even died. Moreover, the invasion has significantly disrupted shipping, with international maritime law routinely ignored in the name of special military operations. The too often overlooked implications of the war for seafarers, cannot be overlooked in any assessment of the impact of the war. Some 10% of seafarers come from Russia and 4% come from Ukraine, leaving a significant dent in the global supply of crew. For well over a year now seafarers have been caught up in a crisis far beyond their control. And the fact that follows directly from the Crew Change Crisis that saw tens of thousands of seafarers stranded at sea throughout the Covid pandemic has left many in the industry concerned about the lasting effects of this war on seafarers. Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, joins today’s edition of this special podcast series to offer his assessment of the lasting impact that the war has had on seafarers and shipping in general.