Ukraine has seized an international freighter it says was transporting stolen Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied Crimea.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said on Thursday that its forces stopped the vessel in the Black Sea near Ukraine’s Odesa region, seizing it and apprehending its captain.
The Cameroon-flagged vessel, Usko Mfu, had been working for Russia to export grain to the Middle East, the SBU said. It had repeatedly docked at the Crimean sea port of Sevastopol since last year to pick up several tonnes of the “looted” products, the statement said.
Sevastopol is an important military hub for Russia on the Black Sea.
To conceal its movements, the SBU said, the vessel regularly shut off its GPS tracker and logged false travel information.
Its captain, an Azerbaijani citizen, could face up to five years in prison for violating travel restrictions governing Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories.
It is unclear if 12 other foreign crew members, who prosecutors said were also on board the vessel when it was seized, will face charges.
“The investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and identify other persons involved in the illegal activity,” the SBU said.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
