Two containerships detained in Malta since 2022 over links to sanctioned Russian entities have finally been cleared for release.

The 8,204 teu MSC Bilbao and MSC Valencia, both previously operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), had been held in limbo at Valletta for nearly three years due to their ownership ties to GTLK, Russia’s state transportation leasing company, which was blacklisted under US Treasury OFAC sanctions following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As of 7 July 2025, both vessels were formally transferred to new, non-sanctioned owners and renamed TSC Dorado and TSC London, paving the way for their reactivation.

The new ownership structure falls under TSC, a company with no known Russian affiliation, and links to Germany’s Hammonia Reederei, thereby allowing the ships to exit detention and resume commercial operations. The precise terms of the ownership transfer and sale price have not been disclosed.

GTLK has been at the centre of a sweeping Western crackdown on Russia’s state-linked leasing and transport entities, with dozens of aircraft and vessels frozen or repossessed across Europe since sanctions were first imposed in early 2022.

The vessels, both built in 2007, are part of a broader GTLK-owned maritime portfolio that included tankers, and offshore vessels, many of which have been either detained, reflagged, or quietly sold off in the wake of sanctions.

The TSC Dorado and TSC London are now cleared to re-enter global service, with chartering options being evaluated. It remains unclear whether MSC will resume their commercial deployment under a new time charter, or if the new owners will seek alternative liner partners.