Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that UK seafarers impacted by the sanctions on Russia are adequately supported.

The Government has introduced a range of Transport Sanctions in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. These measures are intended to ratchet up the economic pressure on Russia, signal our support to Ukraine, and to degrade the Russian shipping sector. We also recognise the importance of protecting seafarers and their welfare whilst achieving this goal.

The Government continually seeks to ensure sanctions measures are carefully targeted and avoid unintended consequences. Economic sanctions come under the remit and responsibility of HM Treasury and its Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). If a person or organisation is subject to financial sanctions and requires access to frozen funds in order to pay for goods and services, it is incumbent on them to seek a licence from OFSI. This includes the release of funds for the purpose of paying seafarers.

OFSI prioritises cases where there are issues of personal basic needs and/or wider humanitarian issues at stake which are of material impact or urgency, or which are deemed to be of particular strategic, economic or administrative importance. My Department has engaged regularly with OFSI on this matter to ensure cases of seafarer remuneration are considered and prioritised where possible.