Action for admitting Shtandart to international ports

Replica heritage ships were recently listed by the EU as ships under sanctions. The brig Morgenster forwarded a distress call from the Shtandart, which has nowhere to dock as a result.

The Morgenster is en route from La Rochelle to the Brest Maritime Festival, and received the message on 7 July. The message from the Shtandart shows that the Prefet of Finistere has issued a statement prohibiting the Shtandart from entering ports. The Shtandart is a replica of the ship that Tsar Peter the Great had built, after training as a shipbuilder in the Netherlands. The ship flies the Russian flag.

“We all know that ‘replica ships’ is probably not the most important item on the EU Commission’s agenda. We know that this harassment is the result of an action by one person or a very small group of people. They are trying to raise their ‘importance’ or personal profile by attacking our ship, which is a) innocent and b) visible and famous.
For the past two years, we, the Shtandart Team, tried to be modest in our public statements. We know that the good people of Ukraine are fighting a heroic battle against the aggressor and we knew that the tricoloured Russian flag could be a reason for their anger. Therefore, we had stopped displaying the flag and did not call for public support for the ship. We hoped that a humble and internationally friendly community would appease the attackers. But – not, the storm to Shtandart does not calm down.
Today, we need the voices of people who understand Shtandart’s true mission to be heard – by the media, by politicians, by authorities. The mission is to develop friendship between people of all nations, to stop hatred at our level – at the level of ordinary people. We all suffer from the dictator’s decisions – some to a small extent, some to a large extent. For the Shtandart and her crew – the ship remains at sea without a port – this is a matter of life and death.

Can you help? Spread this message to your friends? To the media? Or an elected representative to talk to?”

Very best regards,
Capt Vladimir Martus
TS Shtandart

Symbol of international friendship

Before the war with Ukraine broke out, the Shtandart was a highly sought-after ship at international festivals precisely because its crew, with owner and captain Vladimir Markus at the forefront, made a particularly strong case for the message of international friendship, carefully avoiding any support for the Putin regime. Martus, who is himself half-Russian, half-Ukrainian, has on several occasions spoken out vehemently against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The three-master has been a frequent guest in Dutch ports in recent years. Especially in Zaandam, which has historical ties with Russian Tsar Peter the Great. The Shtandart also featured in several films, including Michiel de Ruyter and Nova Zembla.

Source: Morgenster.

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