The Merchant Shipping Directorate has issued an MS Notice to bring to the attention of all concerned, the new package of restrictive measures adopted by the Council of the European Union to respond to actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
The new measures introduce, amongst other sanctions, an import ban on goods from the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, restrictions on trade and investments related to certain economic sectors, a prohibition to supply tourism services, and an export ban for certain goods and technologies. In terms of financial restrictions, the measures introduce a sectoral prohibition to finance the Russian Federation, its government and Central Bank.
To this effect, all those concerned, including owners of ships registered in Malta, shipping organisations established in Malta or operating Maltese ships and masters of Maltese ships are strongly advised to comply at all times with these measures and to extend their full cooperation for their effective enforcement.
The shipping community is being reminded that the use of Maltese ships in any such violation may be considered as being against the interest of Malta and of Maltese shipping and may lead, inter alia, to closure of the registry.
In addition to this, another MS Notice has been issued to advise Masters and operators of Maltese ships that operate or that may operate in Ukrainian sea ports areas to evaluate the local security circumstances to determine whether their continued presence/or proceeding to ports in the area is safe.
Masters and crew shall at all times observe restrictions imposed by local authorities. It is to be noted that in view of the situation, port services may be disrupted and security levels in ports may change at short notice. To this effect, if ship masters and operators of Maltese ships, in their judgment, deem it necessary to proceed to this area, they are strongly advised to proceed with utmost caution and in a high state of vigilance, implementing higher ship security level procedures as outlined in the approved ship security plans whilst trading in these areas.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
