To grant seafarers the right to deferment from conscription to military service

And to consider the possibility to establish - with regard to maritime transport organizations - a procedure for exemption of seafarers from conscription for military service for mobilization similar to that already provided for certain branches of activities -  the Seafarers' Union of  Russia appealed to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. Following the adoption of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 21, 2022 No. 647 "On the announcement of partial   mobilization in the Russian Federation" about 40% of the crew members of ships flying the Russian flag can be classified as the first category of the military reserve in accordance with  Art. 53 of the Federal Law of March 28, 1998 No. 53-FZ "On military duty and military service", which means that they are subject to conscription for military service for mobilization.

The Seafarers' Union of  Russia  is sure that it is nearly impossible to replace such a number of crew members. It takes a considerable amount of time to train qualified ratings, not to speak of education of officers which can take about 7-10 years.

– According to Art. 53 of the Code of Merchant Shipping of the Russian Federation, every ship shall be manned by a crew of seafarers of adequate  qualifications and sufficient in number, - SUR Chairman Yury Sukhorukov said. - This is absolutely necessary, first and foremost,  for vessel's safety operation, which is confirmed by the Minimum Safe Manning Certificate. The absence of this Certificate or non-compliance of  ship's manning to the Certificate's requirements may be the basis for ship's detention in Russian or foreign ports and the subsequent ban on its operation.

If the mobilization requirements  are applied in full to seafarers, it will lead to a shortage of qualified maritime personnel, failure to carry  planned crew changes and further to  detention of ships in ports due to non-compliance with the requirements of the Minimum Safe Manning Certificate.

These  developments can make it  difficult to ensure domestic and international shipping, including the transportation of hydrocarbons in the Arctic, as well as disruption  the existing supply chains, including the supply of strategic cargoes.

- According to the information posted on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, for some industries the procedure has been established  which provides an exemption  from conscription for military service for mobilization for citizens from the lists submitted by the heads of the relevant organizations in the prescribed form to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation . At the same time, at the moment, maritime transport workers (seafarers) do not have the right to the exemption, - Yury Sukhorukov said.