The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained and seized a foreign vessel in the Odesa port that was part of russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.” The ship was used for the illegal transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, ProAgro Group reports.
According to the investigation, the vessel’s owner was subject to sanctions imposed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and attempted to evade restrictions by regularly changing the ship’s name and its nominal beneficiaries in third countries.
The SBU established that the dry cargo ship, which arrived in Odesa under the flag of an African country to load steel pipes, had previously entered the port of Sevastopol at least seven times. In January 2021, it illegally transported nearly 7,000 tons of Ukrainian grain to North Africa.
At the time of the seizure, the captain and 16 crew members — citizens of several Middle Eastern countries — were on board. During the search, law enforcement officers confiscated documents and navigation materials confirming illegal voyages to the occupied territories.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including state treason, financing actions aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order, and violating the rules for entering the temporarily occupied territory. The vessel has been seized and transferred to the management of the National Agency for Asset Recovery and Management (ARMA).
Earlier, it was reported that a court in Mykolaiv fined a company UAH 498 million for fictitious grain exports.
