International Chamber of Shipping: Shipping community calls on UN to urgently evacuate seafarers trapped in Ukrainian ports
23.2.2023 21:36:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
The world’s leading maritime organisations and companies have released an open letter calling on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urgently prioritise the evacuation of 331 seafarers and 62 ships that remain trapped in Ukrainian ports.
The 34 signatories, including the International Chamber of Shipping, NKY Line, the Union of Greek Shipowners, Danish Shipping, and seafarer charities, called the situation an ‘unacceptable risk to life.’
In February 2022, 112 vessels crewed by more than 2,000 seafarers were berthed in Ukranian ports across the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Since then, 1,700 have been safely evacuated and have been able to return to their families or return to their work of keeping global trade flowing.
The remaining 331 seafarers from countries such as Bangladesh, Philippines, Turkey, Syria, China, Egypt, Lebanon, Greece, Indonesia, Ghana, India, Azerbaijan and Georgia, remain to maintain the safety and protect against environmental harm. No other industry have non-combatants in the area over a year on from the start of the conflict, as they can only leave when the ships leave.
Some of the ports where these seafarers remain have resumed operability, facilitating the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Shipping has been integral in carrying out this UN-brokered humanitarian effort, with crews sailing along the borders of the conflict zone to ensure the world continues to receive vital grain deliveries. However, ships who are not able to transport grain are excluded and remain trapped.
Since the onset of the war, shipping companies, charities, and unions have continually called for the safe and immediate evacuation of the trapped seafarers. They have also worked in coordination with international organisations to facilitate the evacuation effort, supported the trapped seafarers’ families, and provided the seafarers with provisions including food, clean water, and medical supplies.
To mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the shipping community sent this open letter to UNSG Guterres, calling on him to use his diplomatic abilities to evacuate the remaining seafarers ships.
- ENDS -
Notes to editors:
About ICS
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is the principal international trade association for merchant shipowners and operators, representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005829/en/
Contact information
Katerina Dimitropoulos, Communications Manager, ICS
katerina.dimitropoulos@ics-shipping.org / +44 7494 363434
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Fortegra Completes Acquisition by DB Insurance29.5.2026 23:30:00 EEST | Press release
The Fortegra Group, Inc. ("Fortegra"), a global specialty insurance company, today announced the completion of its acquisition by DB Insurance Co., Ltd. ("DB"), one of Korea's leading property and casualty insurers. The transaction, announced on September 26, 2025, received all required regulatory and stockholder approvals. Fortegra will operate independently, maintaining its existing leadership team, distribution relationships, and underwriting discipline. Agents, distribution partners, and customers will continue to experience the service excellence that has defined the Fortegra experience. Richard Kahlbaugh, Chairman and CEO of Fortegra, said: "Every company eventually changes ownership. That is the nature of business. The closing of this acquisition is a starting point. As part of DB Insurance, Fortegra is positioned to expand our business geographically, enhance our capabilities and deepen our market presence in the US, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia. Together, DB Insurance a
SINOVAC Receives Nasdaq Notification Regarding Late Filing of 2025 Annual Report29.5.2026 23:01:00 EEST | Press release
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (Nasdaq: SVA) (“SINOVAC” or the “Company”), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that it received a notification letter dated May 20, 2026 (the “Notification Letter”), from Nasdaq Listing Qualifications (“Nasdaq”) stating that as of May 8, 2026, the Company had regained compliance with the periodic filing and interim financial requirements in Nasdaq Listing Rules 5250(c)(1) (the “Periodic Filing Rule”) and 5250(c)(2), as required by the Panel’s decision dated January 21, 2026. As previously disclosed on January 22, 2026, under the Panel’s decision, SINOVAC was required to, on or before May 11, 2026, demonstrate compliance with such Nasdaq Listing Rules by completing filings of its annual report for the year ended December 31, 2024, on Form 20-F and an interim balance sheet and income statement as of the end of its second quarter of 2025 on Form 6-K. The Company timely completed such filings as required by the Panel’s decision.
From Network Automation to Agentic NetOps: NetBrain Sets the Standard for Deploying AI in Network Operations29.5.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
NetBrain Technologies, Inc. today announced major new platform features that advance Agentic NetOps from an emerging category to operational reality. NetBrain's clients are already deploying agents that are diagnosing and remediating issues across complex multi-vendor enterprise networks. These new features further extend the platform with new agent tooling, cross-domain context, and open interfaces for the broader agentic enterprise. Early customer outcomes show the magnitude of the shift: A leading health insurer used NetBrain's Deep Diagnosis agent to diagnose and resolve a weeks old VPN connectivity issue in under five minutes. A large manufacturer resolved a critical device issue with a single prompt, isolating the root cause across the network path in under 20 minutes, saving hundreds of hours of engineer time, shrinking MTTR by more than 95%. A global telecommunications firm found NetBrain's context-grounded agents outperformed a stand-alone frontier LLM on a persistent firewall
Adtran resolves long-running patent litigation, reinforcing commitment to defend innovation29.5.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Adtran today announced it has resolved a patent litigation matter, resulting in a full settlement and dismissal of all claims with prejudice. The case, initiated in 2020 by a non-practicing entity asserting five patents, was transferred to the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in 2021 following a successful motion by Adtran. Adtran subsequently filed counterclaims, including bad-faith patent assertion under Alabama statutory law. The settlement includes payment to Adtran to resolve its counterclaims. Terms of the agreement remain confidential. “This outcome reflects a disciplined and consistent approach to protecting our innovation and our customers,” said Justin Ferguson, SVP and general counsel at Adtran. “We take all claims seriously, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves when assertions lack merit. Situations like this place unnecessary strain on technology providers and divert resources from advancing networks and services. By advancing our counterclaim
Meiji Seika Pharma Invests in GHIC’s Global Health Security Fund29.5.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and Representative Director: Toshiaki Nagasato) today announced that it has committed to invest in the Global Health Security Fund (GHSF), which is sponsored by Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC), a New York-based nonprofit organization. Through this investment, Meiji Seika Pharma will support the acceleration of innovations addressing critical global health challenges, including pandemic preparedness and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). GHIC is a mission‑driven nonprofit organization that deploys private investment strategies to generate both global health impact and financial returns. GHIC recently closed its second fund in GHSF. With more than a decade of experience investing in the field of infectious disease, GHIC has contributed to addressing major global health challenges. Its portfolio companies have successfully commercialized more than a dozen products, collectively reaching over 600 million people wo
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom