Any foreign seafarer who sails on a vessel to a port in Crimea cannot visit Ukraine for the following three years, the Ukrainian authorities said.
The Ukrainian Security Service said that Ukraine does not operate the checkpoints at seaports in Crimea, and therefore entry into the occupied territory by sea is deemed illegal.
This concerns even seafarers who are serving on a different vessel and which has not itself called at Crimean ports, according to West of England marine insurer.
“Whilst it is not immediately clear how the Ukrainian authorities will obtain information on individual seafarers who might have sailed to Crimean ports, any seafarer found to have done so also faces a fine or administrative imprisonment for up to 15 days should they try to enter Ukraine, ” the insurer said.
The formerly Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014 and has ever since been governed by Russia.
In May 2014, Ukraine closed the ports located on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for international shipping. The decision on closing relates to the ports Evpatoria, Kerch, Sevastopol, Feodosia, Yalta and Sevastopol.
World Maritime News Staff