Wer schützt die Kaufleute, wenn der Schwarzmeerkrieg ihre Schiffe erreicht?

Ukraine says its expanding drone campaign against Russian maritime logistics is intended to disrupt the military and economic infrastructure sustaining Moscow’s invasion. Le Monde reported that attacks had extended into the Sea of Azov, targeting tankers, ferries and other vessels associated with Russian supply chains and the sanctions-evading shadow fleet. Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian ports and ships using Ukraine’s export corridor.

Those strategic explanations do not erase the civilian status of crews who are not taking part in hostilities. Merchant seafarers commonly come from countries including Türkiye, India, the Philippines and Azerbaijan. They may work through recruitment agencies, sail under a flag different from the owner’s nationality and serve a charterer based in a third jurisdiction. When something goes wrong, responsibility is consequently scattered among the employer, shipowner, insurer, flag state, port state and consular authorities.

The Volgo-Don 5021 illustrates that imbalance. El Mundo described it as a cargo vessel more than 50 years old and reported that its crew endured poor living conditions and months without pay. The owner, Cunda Denizcilik, reportedly paid after the strike attracted attention in Türkiye. Belgium Pulse could not independently obtain the company’s account, verify the vessel’s insurance position or establish whether the payment resolved every contractual claim.

The International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention, often called the seafarers’ bill of rights, covers employment agreements, monthly wages, medical care, occupational safety, complaint procedures and repatriation. Internationally trading ships of at least 500 gross tonnage covered by the convention should carry a Maritime Labour Certificate and a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance.

A seafarer considering a Black Sea contract should ask for four things: the precise ports and route; the ship’s flag, registered owner and insurer; the collective bargaining agreement and any war-risk clause; and written confirmation of repatriation arrangements. Copies should be left with family ashore. Promises about bonuses or safety equipment made only by telephone are much harder to enforce.

Rights in a designated warlike area depend partly on the applicable agreement. The International Transport Workers’ Federation, or ITF, says designated areas can trigger advance notification, enhanced pay and, under covered agreements, a right to refuse entry and be repatriated at the company’s expense. These benefits are not automatically identical for every ship or contract. The ITF advises seafarers with unpaid wages to contact its nearest inspector or Seafarers Support without delay and retain the employment agreement, wage records, ship details and correspondence.

The ILO says a seafarer who appears to have been abandoned should approach a union, consulate or flag-state authority. Compulsory financial security under the convention can cover up to four months of outstanding wages and certain other entitlements. The onboard complaint procedure must also identify the competent flag-state authority and protect a complainant against victimisation.

Belgium’s role is secondary but practical. A person serving on a Belgian-flagged vessel can use the onboard procedure and contact the Belgian Maritime Inspectorate at the FPS Mobility and Transport. This is a maritime labour and flag-state matter, not something handled by the local commune or gemeente where the seafarer is registered. The FPS publishes information in French and Dutch; workers should request contractual and safety documents in a language they fully understand before signing.

Belgian nationals travelling to Ukraine face a separate warning. As of 4 September 2026, the FPS Foreign Affairs advises against all travel to Ukraine and cautions that insurance and consular assistance may be limited in a war zone. Those already abroad should keep their Travellers Online registration current. A professional maritime assignment is not an ordinary tourist trip, however, so registration cannot replace employer insurance, flag-state protection or a valid evacuation plan.

The broader picture is a maritime war in which commercial routes serve both global trade and military logistics. Russia presents attacks on its shipping network as assaults on civilian commerce; Ukraine argues that vessels supporting Russian energy revenues and occupied territories form part of the aggressor’s logistical system. Trade unions and maritime bodies focus on a different boundary: crews should not bear the human cost of decisions made by states, owners and charterers.

What follows will depend on whether attacks continue, whether insurers and shipowners restrict voyages, and whether flag and port states enforce labour standards on ageing vessels. The total number of seafarers killed this summer, the insurance status of many ships and the effectiveness of improvised anti-drone protections remain uncertain. For crews, the safest assumption is that a commercial contract does not make a combat zone safe—and that rights left unwritten may be hardest to exercise when the ship is already under way.