With the anniversary of the Ukraine conflict approaching, more than 40 vessels are still stranded in various Ukrainian ports. IUMI welcomes the efforts by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to free these vessels and hopes that sufficient assurances can be received from both Russia and Ukraine to enable the vessels to leave safely. Since the summer the UN’s Black Sea Grain Initiative Russia has allowed bulkers to call at three ports in Ukraine to export corn, wheat and other foodstuffs, but this agreement has not permitted other trapped vessels to leave other Ukrainian ports.