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Ukraine authorizes passage of ships to its Black Sea ports at captains’ own risk

It is claimed that Ukraine previously proposed the new temporary routes in an appeal to the International Maritime Organization

MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Ukraine has announced temporary corridors in the Black Sea for merchant vessels sailing to or from the ports of Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny, whose owners and captains "officially confirm their readiness to sail" along a route where a military threat and danger of mines persist.

"New temporary routes have been announced for civilian vessels sailing to and from the Black Sea seaports of Ukraine. <...> These routes will be primarily used to allow civilian vessels, which have remained stuck in the Ukrainian ports of Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny since late February 2022, to leave," the Ukrainian navy wrote on its page on Facebook (prohibited in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as an extremist organization).

It did not give the coordinates of the designated routes. However, it is claimed that Ukraine had previously proposed them in an appeal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the IMO council "recognized Ukraine's right to free commercial navigation guaranteed by international maritime law." Kiev said that it was considering, in particular, the route that runs within the territorial waters and exclusive maritime economic zones of Romania and Bulgaria.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry warned that, effective July 20, all ships traversing the Black Sea to Ukrainian seaports would be viewed as potentially carrying military cargos. "Given that the Black Sea [grain deal] initiative has come to an end and the maritime humanitarian corridor has been terminated, all ships traversing the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports shall be viewed as potential carriers of military-purpose cargos, starting from 00:00 a.m. Moscow time on July 20, 2023," the ministry said.

It further said that the flag states of such ships would be viewed as participating in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of Kiev. Also, certain areas in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the international waters of the Black Sea are considered temporarily dangerous for navigation.