Seafarers who sailed to Crimea banned from Ukraine for three years

Any foreign seafarer who sails on a vessel to a port in Crimea cannot  visit Ukraine for the following three years, the Ukrainian authorities  said.

The Ukrainian Security Service said that Ukraine does not operate the  checkpoints at seaports in Crimea, and therefore entry into the  occupied territory by sea is deemed illegal.

This concerns even seafarers who are serving on a different vessel and  which has not itself called at Crimean ports, according to West of  England marine insurer.

“Whilst it is not immediately clear how the Ukrainian authorities will  obtain information on individual seafarers who might have sailed to  Crimean ports, any seafarer found to have done so also faces a fine or  administrative imprisonment for up to 15 days should they try to enter  Ukraine,” the insurer said.

The formerly Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian  Federation on 18 March 2014 and has ever since been governed by Russia.

In May 2014, Ukraine closed the ports located on the territory of the  Autonomous Republic of Crimea for international shipping. The decision  on closing relates to the ports Evpatoria, Kerch, Sevastopol,  Feodosia, Yalta and Sevastopol.



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