The Security Service of Ukraine has detained and seized a foreign vessel in Odessa that was part of Russia’s “shadow” fleet and was illegally transporting Ukrainian agricultural products from temporarily occupied Crimea.
According to the case materials, the ship’s owner was under sanctions imposed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and regularly changed the vessel’s name and formal beneficiaries from third countries to circumvent these restrictions.
SSU officers uncovered the Russian-controlled cargo ship in Odessa’s commercial port, where it had arrived under the flag of an African country to export a shipment of steel pipes.
It was established that before the full-scale war, the vessel had docked in Sevastopol at least seven times to illegally export agricultural products for Russia’s benefit.
At the end of January 2021, the cargo ship illegally transported nearly 7,000 tons of grain from the Ukrainian peninsula to North Africa.
At the time of detention, the ship’s captain and 16 crew members—all citizens of several Middle Eastern countries—were on board.
During the search, authorities found voyage plans, pilot cards, cartographic materials, and radio communication logs with evidence of illegal entries into ports of temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
The SSU has opened a criminal case under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 3, Article 110-2 (financing actions aimed at forcibly changing or overthrowing the constitutional order or seizing state power, altering the borders or territory of Ukraine);
- Part 1, Article 111 (treason);
- Article 291 (violation of transport regulations);
- Parts 2 and 3, Article 332-1 (violating the rules of entry to or exit from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory).
According to the SSU, the vessel has been seized and will be transferred to Ukraine’s National Agency for the Detection, Investigation, and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA).
The operation was carried out by SSU officers in Crimea and Odesa region in cooperation with the State Border Guard Service, under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor’s Office in Crimea and Sevastopol.
