Visa restrictions and restrictions on freedom of movement to/from the ship

Russian seafarers occupy an important place in the maritime industry: according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), they make up about 10.5% of the total number of merchant marine workers worldwide – more than 71,000 Officers and 126,000 Ratings. Of these, about 30 thousand work on the vessels of European shipping companies. Their work is an important contribution to the smooth functioning of supply chain. Today, it is at risk due to EU sanctions against Russian citizens: Russian seafarers encounter problems getting their wages while new visa restrictions challenge their ability to travel freely to embark on vessels in Europe and threaten another round of crew change crisis.

At the moment, there is a stalemate: due to the introduction of visa restrictions for Russian citizens, the very possibility of free transit of Russian seafarers to Europe to join vessels of the European shipowners has been extremely questionable. Since the beginning of a special combat operation in Ukraine, direct flights with European countries have been reduced to a minimum, and with many of them have been cancelled altogether. In recent months, land borders have become the main route for seafarers to reach the EU states: for seafarers from St. Petersburg – through Finland, Estonia and Latvia, from Murmansk – through Norway, from Kaliningrad – through Poland and Lithuania. However, since 19 September, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have closed entry for Russian citizens with tourist visas. On 23 September, they were followed by Finland.

Today, not only to enter Europe, but also to obtain a Schengen visa is a very difficult task. Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Estonia have completely ceased issuing tourist visas to applicants from Russia. Among those accepting applications are the representations of Germany, Poland, Sweden and Norway (the latter, although not part of the European Union, has also suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia since 22 September) yet the number of visas issued has decreased several times. In this regard, the process of obtaining a visa now takes a very long time even in those representations that continue to work with the Russians. For example, the appointment for submitting a visa application at some general consulates of Germany in Russia has already been impossible to schedule until the beginning of 2023. According to the EU Visa Code, the maximum period for consideration of a visa application can be up to 45 days, and the final result can be either positive or negative. Seafarers from different regions of Russia have to come to cities where there are still representations of European states that issue visas – in particular, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Saratov – spending substantial amounts on travel and accommodation. All this has been substantially delaying the timing for obtaining Schengen visas by Russian seafarers and hindering crew changes, which greatly complicates the work of European shipping companies. At the moment, the situation to a certain degree is saved by the fact that many seafarers are still in a possession of valid Schengen visas, but in six months or a year their validity will expire and the world will face the threat of a new round of the crew change crisis.

It should be mentioned that even now it is not uncommon for visas to be refused even in working consulates for unknown reasons. For example, in one of the cases for a crew change in Sweden, the crewing agency applied with a set of applications for visas to seafarers – a total of 20 crew members. Of these, 10 were granted visas, 10 were not, and without explanation. Sometimes, the reasons are nevertheless voiced: refusals due to the terms of insurance have become more frequent. Earlier, when applying for a visa, insurance was most commonly drafted for 30 days. Today, representations can accept documents with such validity of insurance for consideration, but after weeks of waiting, a negative answer comes – it turns out that the document had to be drafted for the entire period of stay in the Schengen area.

For some time now, seafarers have faced various difficulties when crossing the border. Among those who have problems are the crew members of a company that has a branch office in Kaliningrad. They, as they did many times before, crossed the Polish-Lithuanian border in a minibus and set off for Ghent (Belgium), where they were supposed to embark on a vessel. The minibus managed to successfully drive several European states when, all of a sudden, it was stopped at the Belgian border with an explanation from a border control officer that entry by land into the country was prohibited and the only way the seafarers can get to Belgium was by plane. The crew never made it to the vessel. Recently, a similar situation happened: Russian seafarers arrived in a minibus at the Polish border, where they were okayed to proceed further, but the vehicle and its driver were refused to do so. The seafarers had to get to the final point of their destination on their own. Also, many seafarers noted special diligence in checking documents and personal belongings.

In view of the above visa problems, closure of most land borders and the lack of direct and frequent air communication with Europe, we would like to understand how and where Russian seafarers will be able to cross the border with the EU Member States in order to join vessels of the European shipowners, transport necessary cargo to European countries which would enable European companies to further generate revenue and eventually fill up the coffers of the European Union. 

Seafarers’ Wages
Another pressing issue for Russian seafarers, which jeopardizes their further participation in global shipping, is problems with getting wages. Many Russian banks, to which foreign companies used to transfer seafarers’ wages in foreign currency without any impediments, have fallen under restrictions. Opening accounts in banks, that are not under restrictions, did not completely solve the problem: even if a particular bank is not in the sanctions list, difficulties in transferring funds can emerge due to intermediary banks that refuse to complete, or complete transactions with a considerable delay with Russian citizens and enterprises fearing of falling under secondary sanctions. Wages can be paid to seafarers in cash directly on the vessel, but shipowners are afraid to carry such large amounts of money on board, and seafarers face difficulties in taking them out of Europe to their homeland.

Suffice it to recall a few egregious cases when seafarers were stopped while crossing the Finnish border to Russia, and, following a search, their entire salary in euros was confiscated. They were offered to receive the money back during their next visit to the country. The basis for this is the EU Council Regulation No.2022/345 of 1 March 2022 “On amending Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine”. Article 5i of this document prohibits to sell, supply, transfer or export euro denominated banknotes to Russia or to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Russia, including the government and the Central Bank of Russia, or for use in Russia.

At the same time, the second paragraph of this article stipulates that this prohibition shall not apply to the sale, supply, transfer or export of euro denominated banknotes provided that such sale, supply, transfer or export is necessary for the personal use of natural persons travelling to Russia or members of their immediate families travelling with them. However, it is not clear from the document whether this applies to seafarers who have honestly earned their money and given profits for the European shipowner with their work. This issue, of course, needs to be more clearly specified.

In order for these problems not to hamper Russian seafarers to pursue their work on board European vessels and to facilitate the smooth functioning of supply chain, effective measures need to be taken to ensure that the seafarers have access to rapid and unimpeded obtain of Schengen visas, free transit to their place of work in Europe and a failure-free way of receiving wages. 

Designate seafarers as key workers
Seafarers are truly indispensable key workers. They are the ones moving global trade. They do not take part in combat operations – on the contrary, they are the ones performing, in many respects, humanitarian missions, transporting essential goods: the food on our plates, the fuel for busses and cars, the medicines and equipment that doctors use in hospitals to fight illnesses. And yet today thousands of Russian seafarers are held hostage to political decisions: visa restrictions for Russian citizens, introduced by the European Union in mid-September 2022, are likely to affect Russian seafarers employed by the European shipping companies putting at risk supply chain and international trade, which are more essential than ever during these difficult times.

In this regard, we urge all parties concerned to reiterate the need to designate all seafarers, regardless of nationality, as key workers to exempt them from travel restrictions and ensure that they are able to join and leave their vessels for repatriation, crew changes, shore leave and medical attention without impediment. This is fully in line with the December 2020 United Nations resolution that calls on its members to designate seafarers and other marine personnel as key workers and implement relevant measures to allow stranded seafarers to be repatriated and others to join ships.

It is also worth recalling the provisions of Article 36 of the EU Visa Code, which stipulates that a seafarer who is required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States may be issued with a visa for the purpose of transit at the border in order to embark on, or disembark from a vessel on which he/she will work or has worked as a seafarer. Member States should also consider temporary visa waivers for third-country seafarers in all EU Schengen States that would be a major step on the way to deal with the backlog of crew changes.

With regard to wages, it is important that the European Commission identifies banks that are not under sanctions, to which European shipowners can transfer seafarers’ wages. It can be, for example, Rosbank, Raiffeisenbank and several others. It is also necessary to provide seafarers with the opportunity to freely export their wages to Russia in cash in euros or dollars without the risk of withdrawal at the border.

We would like to stress once again the need for seafarers to be paid and repatriated – two basic rights that must be fully respected and implemented. And we must ensure that these basic rights are upheld for these key workers during the exceptional circumstances we are currently all experiencing – not only for the benefit of the Russian seafarers but also for the benefit of all Member States.