Ukraine’s military has suspended all activity in its commercial ports in the wake of the Russian invasion.

The ban extends to all Black Sea and Azov Sea ports — Odessa, Chernomorsk, Pivdenny (Yuzhny), Nikolaev, Dneprobugsky, Berdyansk and Mariupol, according to the West P&I club.

Vessels currently in the terminals should seek to leave immediately if it is deemed safe to do so, London-based maritime security agency Dryad Global said in a note to clients.

However, with port movements officially stopped, it might be difficult to obtain clearance to depart, ship managers following the situation told TradeWinds.

Russian reaction to vessels sailing in the area is an additional risk factor.

Any ships “challenged by Russian military vessels should comply fully with instructions,” Dryad recommended.

Hours after the shutdown, a Cargill-charter vessel was hit by a projectile off Odessa, without causing any human casualties.

Speaking to TradeWinds earlier on Thursday, ship managers with vessels and agents in Ukraine said the invasion had not caused any physical damage to port facilities yet.

Despite explosions heard nearby, probably from incoming missiles, the crew of a ship berthed at Odessa, a major port in south west Ukraine, saw no military activity in the terminal.

Similar reports reached TradeWinds from Mariupol — a far smaller port in the east that is very close to the breakaway republics recognised by Russian president Vladimir Putin on 21 February in a move igniting the conflagration.

For a long time on Thursday morning, loading and unloading operations proceeded normally in Ukrainian ports. Speaking later in the day, one ship manager said that some vessels continued loading operations even after the military's shutdown order.

Difficult to predict

The prevailing mood, however, was one of confusion.

“Hard to predict situation right now,” one local agent in Odessa wired to clients.

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), a German operator of a terminal at Odessa, expressed concern about its 480 employees there.

“All HHLA employees have left the terminal,” the company said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Russia has banned shipping in the Azov Sea, a nearly landlocked maritime area wedged between the Russian-controlled Crimea, Ukraine and Russia. There are no major oil terminals there, but the Azov Sea is the gateway to Rostov-on-Don, a major Russian port.

According to unconfirmed Russian reports, two Russian cargo ships were hit in the area.

The maritime situation could escalate if Turkey acquiesces to an official request by the Ukrainian government to shut down the Bosphorus strait to Russian shipping.

Turkey’s security council deliberated under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. In a public speech right after the council meeting, Erdogan made no reference to closing the Bosphorus to anybody.

((This article was updated since original publication))