A meeting of the MTWTU Central Council Presidium was held, attended by Yevhenii Ihnatenko, Head of State Service for Maritime, Inland Waterway Transport and Shipping of Ukraine (the Shipping Administration), Sergii Gurskyi, General Director of the Shipping Register of Ukraine, Oleksandr Boyko, Head of the State Hydrographic Service of Ukraine, and heads of the MTWTU local trade union organisations.
They discussed key initiatives that the Union proposes to implement jointly with the Shipping Administration in 2025. The partnership is part of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed last year during the Ukrainian Maritime Forum.
The MTWTU Chairman Oleg Grygoriuk noted the priority work directions that will facilitate the development of the maritime industry and strengthen the protection of seafarers' rights. These include Ukraine's ratification of the MLC, 2006, the creation of a working group to develop an action plan for the situation with abandoned crews, information campaigns to support seafarers, and joint meetings with youth.
The participants are also considering the possibility of holding the second Ukrainian Maritime Forum. The first Forum demonstrated the significant potential of Ukraine in the global maritime industry and emphasised the importance of digital transformation, investment and support for seafarers. The MTWTU is not stopping there and plans to continue developing this activity to strengthen Ukraine's international position.
The Head of the Shipping Administration, Yevhenii Ihnatenko, supported the MTWTU's initiatives and expressed readiness to work on them together. He emphasised that the Shipping Administration understands seafarers‘ problems and makes efforts to resolve issues with seafarers’ documents:
“Cooperation with the MTWTU is extremely important for the development of Ukraine's maritime industry. We know that the Union always supports seafarers and is ready for dialogue at any time. Together, we can find effective solutions to protect their rights and strengthen Ukraine's position on a global level. At the same time, the Shipping Administration is already working to solve problems, including simplifying the procedure of document processing for seafarers. One of the key initiatives is the possibility of issuing a Ukrainian seafarer's identity document abroad, and we count on the Union's support in this matter.”
The heads of the MTWTU local trade union organisations had the opportunity to ask questions of the Head of the Shipping Administration and received answers in the discussion.
The MTWTU continues to strengthen cooperation with government agencies, strengthening the Ukrainian seafarers' position at the national and global levels.
