Shipping: Russia and Ukraine
(asked on 4th April 2022) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) Ukrainian, and (2) Russian ship crews, can enter UK ports; whether there are sufficient interpreters to assist crew members with access to UK ports; and whether temporary visas are available for such crew.
Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Ukrainian and Russian seafarers do not require a UK visa under ILO convention 108 (and 185 for Russia, having previously ratified 108) if they hold valid seafarers’ identity documents and are coming to crew a ship leaving the UK or to go home having arrived as crew on a ship.
The Government does not as a matter of course provide interpreters at ports to assist seafarers.