In February 2022, the MV Banglar Samriddhi left the port of Eregli in Türkiye, heading for Olvia in Ukraine. The day after it arrived, Russia invaded Ukraine. Chief Engineer Mohammad Omor Faruk and his colleagues found themselves stranded with no safe way out. On 2 March, the 29 Bangladeshi seafarers would suffer a missile attack and for one of the crew, the voyage to Ukraine would be his last. Mohammad Omor Faruk shares his story in this interview in support of BIMCO’s campaign to raise awareness about the rights and protection of seafarers. On 23 February, the MV Banglar Samriddhi arrived at the port of Olvia in the Mykolaiv region on the northern Black Sea coast. The day after, on 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine. “We arrived safely at Olvia’s inner anchorage and dropped anchor. The next day, the war started.” The start of the war meant that the MV Banglar Samriddhi and its crew were now stuck in Ukraine. “At 08:30 I had just finished my breakfast and was sitting in my office chair when I heard a blast. In my port side, a building was hit by a missile, and a mushroom of black smoke was rising. That was the start of the war. The government of Ukraine declared military law in the country. All activity at the port was closed, including pilot operation. We could not get out. We were informed that naval mines were placed and that some of the merchant vessels had already been attacked by missiles while leaving.” All Mohammad Omar Faruk and the team could do was wait. And take precautions. “We communicated with the head office, charterers and local agent about the situation. We held safety meetings and motivated the crew to be aware of the situation. We stopped working on the exposed deck and only did routine cleaning jobs inside the accommodation quarters. We decided to have all firefighting equipment ready for any emergency and did a fire drill. Everything was on standby.” On 1 March, the security situation escalated for the crew. “Port control broadcast on VHF, in