KYIV: According to officials on Thursday, Ukraine intercepted a foreign cargo ship on the Danube River and arrested the captain on suspicion of assisting Moscow in the export of Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied Crimea.
Since the start of the 2022 war, Kiev has accused Russia of trafficking grain that was taken from Ukraine. Though ship seizures have been uncommon, shipping sources expressed anxiety about potential reprisal during a crucial period of the year when Ukraine’s grain shipments are at their highest.
Prosecutors stated that after the USKO MFU, flying the flag of Cameroon, entered the waters of Reni, a Ukrainian port on the Danube where the river forms the boundary with Romania, it was given an arrest order and taken into custody with its Azeri captain.
Ihor Ponochovny, the head of Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office for Crimea, told Ukrainian TV that investigators were taken aback to see the ship on the Danube since they were used to ships that preferred to avoid Ukrainian waterways when they were suspected of smuggling grain out of Russian-held territory.
According to him, 21 ships engaged in the activity have been placed under custody in absentia by Ukraine since 2022.
“This seizure should serve as a clear warning to those nations that assist Russia in evading sanctions and selling agricultural products that have been stolen in the occupied territories that they may be held accountable for this,” the speaker stated.
According to the Ukrainian SBU security service, the ship had frequently anchored at the Crimean sea port of Sevastopol in 2023–2024 to take up agricultural produce.
The ship management Iyem Asya, headquartered in Turkey, confirmed to Reuters that the cargo of the vessel was loaded in Moldova. The official stated, “The ship never used Ukrainian ports and never took any cargo from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine while it was in our possession.
While the ship was cruising down the Danube with a Romanian pilot on board, Ukrainian forces boarded. It was anchored against their will on their side of the river. The lawsuit is now being pursued by our attorneys.
Large portions of the agricultural regions in southern Ukraine have been overrun by Russian soldiers, and Kyiv has accused Moscow of taking and destroying its produce.
According to the SBU, the captain and twelve other crew members assisted Russia in smuggling food from the occupied south of Ukraine into the Middle East for Russian exportation.
“To establish all the circumstances of the crime and identify other persons involved in the illegal activity, an investigation is underway,” the SBU stated. According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office, the USKO MFU loaded more than 3,000 metric tons of agricultural supplies in Sevastopol for a Turkish company on one of its trips in November 2023.
According to LSEG ship-tracking data released on Thursday, the ship last reported its position on July 8 at anchor close to Reni port on the Danube. According to the SBU, the captain can spend up to five years in prison for breaking travel prohibitions pertaining to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
The Danube is essential to Ukraine’s Black Sea exports, which it resurrected last summer without Russia’s consent after Moscow pulled out of an agreement mediated by the UN to allow Kyiv to sell food during the conflict.
When asked if Ukrainian policy had changed, a law enforcement source responded on Thursday, saying, “This is our policy.” The skipper of this ship, who was employed by the occupiers, has now entered Ukrainian territorial seas. And we responded right away.
