Captain of a "shadow" vessel received suspicion for an illegal voyage to Crimea and the export of 2,000 tons of gas

Law enforcement officers uncovered the fact of an illegal entry of a vessel into temporarily occupied Crimea after its detention in Odesa. The captain of the foreign vessel has been notified of suspicion. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to UNN.

The captain of the "shadow" vessel is suspected of an illegal voyage to Crimea and exporting 2,000 tons of gas.

Details 

According to the investigation, it concerns a citizen of one of the Middle Eastern countries – the captain of a Russian dry cargo ship, which was detained in the Odesa seaport in December 2025.

During searches and analysis of documents, it was established that he had previously made an illegal voyage to the occupied peninsula.

The investigation found that in 2024, the suspect commanded a sanctioned gas tanker that systematically changed its name and flag to disguise its activities. The vessel, bypassing official checkpoints, entered the closed Kerch port, from where it exported about 2,000 tons of LNG to one of the Middle Eastern countries, the prosecutor's office indicated.

To conceal illegal voyages, the captain, it is noted, changed route data and periodically turned off the AIS system, which is used to track vessels.

The prosecutor's office notes that such actions are typical for the so-called "shadow fleet," which is used to circumvent sanctions and illegally export resources from temporarily occupied territories.

The suspect's actions are classified under Part 2 of Article 332-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – violation of the procedure for entering and exiting temporarily occupied territory.

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