The SBU detained a foreign cargo ship and its captain, who worked for the aggressor, in the waters of Odesa region. The ship was flying the flag of one of the Central African countries, and its crew was fulfilling an order from Russia to export Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied Crimea. This was reported by the press service of the SBU, reports UNN.
Details
According to the SBU, during 2023-2024, the ship repeatedly docked at the seaport of Sevastopol to pick up looted agricultural products. The ship then transported the cargo to the Middle East for sale in favor of Russia.
To disguise the crime, the captain periodically turned off the vessel's GPS tracker and entered false information into the log of routes and berths.
"In this way, he helped the Nazis to export multi-ton consignments of Ukrainian grain stolen from the temporarily occupied regions in southern Ukraine," the SBU said.
The investigation revealed that the captain of the cargo ship was a citizen of one of the South Caucasus countries. In addition to him, the crew included 12 other foreigners.
During the search, documents, navigation aids and other material evidence of criminal activity were found on board the vessel.
Based on the materials received, SBU investigators served the ship's captain a notice of suspicion under Part 2 Art. 332-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine).
The issue of choosing a type of detention is being decided. The offender faces up to 5 years in prison.
The Prosecutor General's Office added that in November 2023, the USKO MFU vessel flying the flag of Cameroon, in violation of Ukrainian legislation and the law of the sea, entered and left the port in Sevastopol, which was closed by Ukraine. There, the vessel was loaded with more than three thousand tons of agricultural products destined for a Turkish company.
At the end of May 2024, the vessel entered the closed port of Sevastopol for the second time with the AIS system turned off, where it unloaded cargo from Turkey. Subsequently, the vessel left the port, indicating its destination as Istanbul. Istanbul.
However, after switching on the AIS system, on July 2, the vessel entered one of the ports of the Republic of Moldova. While passing through the waters of the port of Reni, the USKO MFU was detained and arrested on the basis of a court order.