LLOYD’S List has provided substantial coverage of how the crisis in Ukraine disrupted shipping and trapped dozens of vessels and thousands of seafarers in Black Sea ports after the start of the unjust war.

A glance at our annual Top 10 most read Lloyd’s List articles confirms that the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine were the most salient for our readership.

1. Tankers shipping Venezuelan and Iranian crude switch to Russian trade

Russian oil producers used a ready-developed, sanctions-skirting template to ship oil as sales pivoted to Asia from Europe following the incursion into Ukraine

2. Two laden Greek tankers seized by Iranian forces

Incidents emerged in May amid spat between Tehran and Athens over US seizure of Iranian oil cargo off Russian tanker held in Greek port

3. Sanctions force massive Sovcomflot tanker sale

Up to one-third of Sovcomflot’s owned fleet was up for grabs as the Russian state tanker giant sought to repay outstanding Western loans before restrictions took effect

4. US seizes Iranian crude from Russian tanker arrested in Greece

George Procopiou’s Dynacom was hired to transfer US-sanctioned Iranian crude from the Russia-flagged tanker Lana, which was detained in April by Greek authorities on the basis of Russian sanctions

5. Ships hit by missiles as Ukraine forces defend Odesa and Mariupol

Chemical tanker Millennial Spirit and Panama-flagged bulk carrier Namura Queen were struck by missiles in February as fighting continued between Russia and Ukraine at the Black Sea ports of Mariupol and Odesa

Lloyd’s List Intelligence / Seasearcher

6. Russia and China behind ‘high-risk’ mid-Atlantic tanker transfer hub

Emergence of Atlantic ship-to-ship transfer hub in July was a case of owners taking big risks for big money. At the core of these operations were five tankers bought by an unknown Chinese entity running ships under separate company names all registered to the same address

7. Anonymous Chinese shipowner spends $376m on tankers for Russian STS hub

Thirteen tankers were at the heart of a new ship-to-ship transhipment hub established mid-Atlantic to consolidate Russia-origin oil cargoes as evolving marine transport model seeks tankers to operate outside established markets, yet remain compliant with class, insurance and other regulatory and technical rules

Cosco Shipping Ports

8. Ningbo port clogged by lockdown measures

In January, the world’s third-busiest box port was trying to unclog containers by establishing a white list for truck drivers and increasing barge and rail services among other efforts

9. Dozen ships alongside in Ukraine could be declared total losses

Marine insurers were bracing for a financial hit running to tens of millions of dollars as up to 15 ships trapped in Ukraine were likely be declared constructive total losses

All India Seafarers Union

10. All countries must back efforts to free Heroic Idun and its crew

The case of the VLCC Heroic Idun raised serious concerns across the tanker sector regarding the Nigerian Navy’s treatment of crew and apparent disregard of international law