On 23 May 2018 at the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) the delegation of Ukraine introduced a document on foreign-flagged vessels calling illegally at closed seaports in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and called upon the IMO member states, including flag of convenience countries, to ensure strict compliance with the international law and the national legislation of Ukraine concerning the order of entry to the temporarily occupied territory and departure from it.

Ukrainian delegation also expressed a strong protest with regard to the unlawful detention on 4 May 2018 by the Russian authorities of a Ukrainian fishing vessel YAMK-0041 and its crew in the vicinity of the Crimean coast.