Konstantin Krasnokutskiy, RUMLA president, issued a statement on 11 April that said the association and its members were opposed to the war and called for an “immediate termination of all military actions.

“We believe that there is no legal or political justification that would allow troops to enter the territory of another state. Any military actions result in the loss of lives. We cannot and will not support or justify human suffering. The decision to launch the military actions is contrary to the interests of both Russia and Ukraine, and humanity,” added the RUMLA statement.

While the RUMLA statement was chiefly concerned with the human suffering caused by the war in Ukraine, The Loadstar asked what consequences were being felt as a consequence of the Russian invasion of its neighbour.

Mr Krasnokutskiy responded with a detailed outline of the effects on Russian maritime enterprises and the movement of goods as a consequence of western sanctions. Some of the most difficult sanctions are the banning of all Russian flagged and Russian controlled vessels from most of the world’s ports.

However, the country has very few container ships and perhaps the more difficult restriction on Russian commerce has been the cessation of maritime operations by the world’s leading container lines, including Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, said Mr Krasnokutskiy, all of which have suspended operations to and from Russia.

“The foreign operators performed all voyages to ports in the North-West and South of Russia. They own more than half of the containers involved in the Russian market,” explained Mr Krasnokutskiy.

Another major blow for the Russian maritime sector has been the decision by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to exclude of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) from IACS, taken on 11 March.

“Many insurance contracts contain a requirement that the vessel shall be classified by an IACS member (for instance, see Institute Classification Clause CL.354 01/01/2001). The latter affects the performance of the insurance contract. Depending on the contract’s terms, the insurer may be entitled to withdraw unilaterally from the contract.

“As far as new insurance contracts are concerned, it might be more complicated to obtain insurance cover or be forced to pay an increased premium for the RMRS-certified vessels,” Mr Krasnokutskiy told The Loadstar.

Most of these vessels will be tankers and bulk carriers, but this will have a profound effect on the Russian economy in time, given that energy is Russia’s major export, and with maritime costs rising substantially it will be inevitable that the cost of shipping to and from Russia will increase too.

However, RUMLA’s motivation in writing to the western media was to express their sorrow and for those affected by war, and to show that not all Russian people support President Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

“We call to stop the war in Ukraine and a return to reason and legal mechanisms to resolve the conflict. We express our condolences to all those who are now going through suffering and loss, pain and sorrow as a result of the war,” said RUMLA.

Security firm Dryad Global today reported that the Turkish military had destroyed three free-floating Ukrainian mines in the Black Sea that have floated on currents to the northern end of the Bosphorus waterway, that links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and ultimately the Mediterranean.

According to reports from Dryad Global the Turkish military has destroyed three mines over the past two weeks.

“The appearance of mines led to the temporary closure of the Bosporus, which links the Marmara and the Mediterranean seas to the Black Sea, and a ban on night-time fishing in the area. The Turkish navy has stepped up its air and sea operations to find them,” said a Dryad report.

It remains unclear where this mine came from and how old it was. However, shipping in the Black Sea region has been advised to proceed with caution.