Crew agency Danica Crewing Specialists says it is trying to get stranded Ukrainian seafarers home by land after the Russian invasion closed airports.
Managing director Henrik Jensen, who is based in Hamburg, said: “The invasion in Ukraine has come as a shock to much of the country’s maritime community.”
Russian attacks were launched near the Ukrainian port of Odessa, where Danica has an office with 50 staff.
The boss said: “It is difficult to believe that we see a war in Europe in 2022. My thoughts are with the innocent people in Ukraine, and let us hope the hostilities will cease as soon as possible.”
Danica supplies thousands of eastern European crew, including 300 Russian and 1,500 Ukrainians.
Jensen said: “Although we did not foresee this happening, we have contingency plans in place, including emergency communication, and we are providing assistance to our shipowners and seafarers.”
He added that Odessa port and military installations were hit by missiles in the early hours of Thursday, with unconfirmed reports of Russian troops on the ground.
Ukrainian airports are closed and all crew movements have stopped.
Danica had some returning seafarers in transit when the military activity began and they are now being accommodated in Turkey and Poland until they can complete their journeys by land.
The company is establishing a holding centre in Warsaw, Poland, assisted by SMT Shipping.
The plan is for the crew to stay together in a hostel or house until the situation clarifies, and Danica is able to return them by bus to their homes.
The agency is also offering to assist other manning agencies or crews in this way.
Males aged between 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave Ukraine, which makes it impossible to have crew leave, although Danica has had reports that some crews and their families managed to escape the country.
Jensen said: “We are ready with a bus service to send joining crews to airports abroad as soon as it is possible and safe. For the time being it is not safe to travel across Ukraine due to the ongoing fighting.
“We have been in contact with all our office staff and they are all safe and sheltering,” he added.
Continuous contact
“I am in continuous contact with our manning director in Odessa, who is in turn in contact with our office staff, and all are safe,” the boss said.
The office is closed, but staff continue to work from home or shelters as best they can.
The boss said: “We also have no reports about casualties amongst our seafarers or their families.”
TradeWinds reporters across the globe are covering the shipping implications on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Danica is providing full support to its crews, using remote-working systems established during the pandemic.
Jensen explained: “Without doubt this will cause a lot of stress and anxiety amongst the seafarers on board who are concerned for their family and friends at home. Under these difficult conditions our office staff remain in contact with seafarers and their families to the greatest possible extent.”
Danica has been in touch with all its shipowner clients, who Jensen reported are “shocked” by the developments.
“With crew changes now difficult, it is expected that some crew will remain on board for longer deployments, as they did during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the managing director added.
Jensen said he had offers of accommodation in other European countries for seafarers unable to travel home or those who have fled Ukraine with their families.
In addition, as a member of crew and ship manager organisation InterManager, Danica is liaising with industry colleagues who are sharing information and assistance, he added.
