I was saddened to see the footage of the attack by Ukraine on the two tankers in the Black Sea on 29 November. My heart goes out to the crew and officers who are, in my mind, not combatants in the Russia/Ukraine war. While they may be employed on 'shadow fleet' tankers, I imagine they are a multinational crew, just trying to make a living, employed through agencies, on poor wages and being exploited for other people's gain.
Without taking sides in this conflict, I expect Nautilus to strongly condemn this attack, which happened in international waters. It was barbaric in the way that the missiles were aimed at the aft end of the tankers, which would result in heavy civilian casualties in the engine room and accommodation.
John McGonigle
The editor responds: Thank you for your thoughtful letter. Nautilus does strongly condemn attacks on civilian seafarers, and our general secretary has set out our position in this news story.
More letters
Is my maritime pension performing as well as it should?
Nautilus answers a member's query about the now-closed MNOPF pension scheme.
Could Nautilus have done more for members' injured knees?
The Union has done great work over the years, and I was a liaison officer for a long time, but I feel that one big failure has not getting seafarers compensation for damage to their knees.
Are you being managed well? Please share your experiences in my study
I'm writing to ask fellow Nautilus members to give a few minutes of their time to help with my research.