About 1,000 sailors are stranded in Ukrainian ports

Two United Nations agencies called, on the 8th, for urgent action to help about a thousand sailors who have been stranded in Ukrainian ports since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that at least 1,000 sailors are in this situation, concentrated mainly in the Sea of Azov area and in the strategic port of Mariupol, a city heavily besieged by the Russians.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the IOM consider that more than 100 merchant ships are blocked in Ukraine and neighbouring countries’ waters.

The leaders of these two organizations sent a joint letter to the authorities of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to express their concern about the fate of these sailors.

“In addition to the risk of being bombed, many seafarers find themselves in vessels that no longer have enough food, fuel, drinking water and other essential supplies. The situation of these sailors is getting increasingly untenable, which poses a risk to their health and well-being,” wrote the ILO and IOM in the letter.

The two organizations urge UNHCR, ICRC, and MSF to “take urgent measures” to replenish these vessels with whatever they need.

Source: UOL

To read the full original article, please go to:

https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/afp/2022/04/08/cerca-de-mil-marinheiros-estao-bloqueados-em-portos-ucranianos.htm

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