An international vessel that Ukraine says was part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” and illegally transported Ukrainian agricultural products from annexed Crimea has been seized by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the port of Odesa.
The SBU announced the seizure on Telegram on Wednesday, December 10.
The agency said the captain and 16 crew members - all citizens of Middle Eastern countries - were on board at the time. “According to case materials, the ship’s owner was under NSDC sanctions (Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council), and to circumvent restrictions regularly changed the vessel’s name and nominal beneficiaries from third countries,” the post said.
The SBU said the dry cargo ship arrived in Odesa flying the flag of an African country to take on a shipment of steel pipes.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the vessel had called at Sevastopol at least seven times “to illegally export agricultural products in Russia’s interest,” according to the SBU.
In late January 2021, it transported nearly 7,000 tons of grain from Crimea to North Africa, the SBU claimed.
Security service investigators opened criminal proceedings under four articles: financing actions aimed at the violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or the seizure of state power, altering Ukraine’s territorial boundaries or state border; treason; violating transport safety rules; and violating the procedure for entering and leaving temporarily occupied territory.
