NATO gives a negative response to a call by René Kofod-Olsen, CEO of ship manager V.Group, to protect ships near the Ukrainian war zone, reports the Financial Times.
Photo: Vadim /Ritzau Scanpix
Merchant vessels sailing through the Black Sea near the southern coast of Ukraine should be escorted by war ships from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
At least according to René Kofod-Olsen, chief executive of the world’s largest ship management firm, V.Group.
”We should demand that our seafaring and marine traffic is being protected in international waters. I’m sure NATO and others have a role to play in the protection of the commercial fleet,” Kofod-Olsen tells the Financial Times.
The war in Ukraine has rendered the northern third of the Black Sea dangerous to ship traffic. It has become almost impossible for ships to approach the southern Ukrainian coast due to the risk of hitting a sea mine – or coming under direct fire.
According to the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), around 500 seafarers remain on board a total of 84 ships at Ukrainian ports, and at least 10 vessels have been damaged by projectiles or mines.
However, NATO refuses to deploy war ships in the area. According to the Financial Times, the alliance says that ”Russia’s naval presence in the Black Sea has disrupted maritime commerce even before its invasion of Ukraine.”
”NATO is not considering a naval mission to escort ships in the Black Sea, but NATO allies that have coastal borders – Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey – have deployed ships to find and neutralize any mines that may be in the area.”
NATO has previously engaged in naval missions in places such as the Horn of Africa, where the alliance’s ships have protected international shipping against pirate attacks. Kofod-Olsen uses such previous operations to argue that the organization should engage in the Black Sea, too.
”If you look at any other place where there has been any other regional conflict of size and international waters have been impacted, then you would find a situation where you would rely on some form of escorts,” he tells the Financial Times.
