Ukrainian security officers have detained a foreign-flagged cargo vessel in the port of Odesa after investigators linked it to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” and to earlier illegal shipments of Ukrainian grain from occupied Crimea.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that the ship was intercepted this week after arriving to load a consignment of steel pipes.

According to the SBU, the vessel’s owner was already under sanctions imposed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council and had repeatedly changed the ship’s name and listed beneficiaries in an attempt to evade restrictions.

The agency reported that the ship had been active in Russia’s interests and had systematically called at closed Crimean ports before the full-scale invasion.

Investigators stated that the vessel entered Sevastopol at least seven times shortly before Russia launched its full invasion in February 2022. The SBU said that in January 2021, the ship illegally loaded almost 7,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain in Sevastopol and transported it to North Africa.

Ukrainian prosecutors, citing earlier findings, also reported that in 2021 the vessel exported more than 6.9 thousand tonnes of wheat from Crimea to an African country.

Officials added that in December 2025, the ship sailed under a foreign flag and entered Odesa port once again, where it was detected and detained. During the operation, the captain and 16 crew members, all holding passports from several Middle Eastern countries, were on board.

During the search, Ukrainian officers discovered voyage plans, pilot charts, cartographic materials, radio logbooks and documents associated with the occupation administration.

Investigators said these materials support evidence of the vessel’s repeated illegal entry into ports located in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory.

The SBU has opened a criminal case under four articles of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, covering:

• financing actions committed with the aim of forcefully changing or overthrowing the constitutional order or seizing state power,
• treason,
• violations of transport rules, and
• illegal entry to and exit from temporarily occupied territory.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the ship’s captain was formally notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 332-1 in December 2025.

A court has approved the seizure of the vessel, and measures are now in progress to transfer the asset to Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), which handles property linked to corruption and other criminal offences.

The operation was carried out by the SBU teams in Crimea and the Odesa region, working in coordination with the State Border Service and prosecutors from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Investigative work continues to identify all entities involved in the vessel’s activities.

References: The Moscow Times, UNN