THE crews of two Angelicoussis Group bulk carriers have been evacuated from the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny.

The Black Sea port, near Odessa, is a significant grain port but has been closed for several days due to the military incursion of the Russian army into the country.

The Greek owner’s dry bulk fleet management arm Maran Dry Management confirmed the evacuation of 35 officers and crew from the two capesize bulkers, Maran Astronomer (IMO: 9581239) and Maran Excellence (IMO: 9703241).

Those evacuated included nine Greek nationals, 23 nationals of the Republic of the Philippines and three Romanian nationals, said the company.

In a statement, Maran thanked Greece’s foreign affairs ministry, its crisis management unit, and the Greek consulate-general in Odessa for their help and support in organising the seafarers’ evacuation.

Satellite imaging showed the two bulkers virtually stern to stern in the small Adzhalyk estuary.

It was not immediately clear how many seafarers, if any, were still on board the two vessels.

A spokesman for the company could not immediately be reached for comment.

Greece’s ministry of shipping and island policy has said that it has remained “in constant touch” with masters of Greece-flagged as well as other Greek-owned ships in Ukraine and the wider Black Sea region.

At the end of the past week, shipping minister Ioannis Plakiotakis disclosed the authorities were seeking the release of a Greek vessel blocked “in a port near Odessa” and had requested the intervention of its consular team there.

A number of vessels in the area have been damaged already by missiles or shells.

Russian forces have reportedly been moving towards Yuzhny from the Crimean peninsula.