GELMOND 1

In February 2026, a vessel under the command of Master LITVINENKO SERGEI (russian citizen) transported over 4,000.0 metric tons of primary aluminum (HS Code 7601) from the port of Temryuk to Greece. The shipper of the aluminum cargo was AL PLUS GLOBAL DMCC (an aluminum trader affiliated with companies in the Rusal Group). In February 2025, with the adoption of the 16th sanctions package, the EU imposed a direct ban on the import of primary aluminum from russia into the EU.
In April 2026, a vessel under the command of Captain SMIRNOV MIKHAIL (russian citizen) transported coal (anthracite) belonging to JSC "Shakhtoupravlenie ‘Obukhovskaya’," which is subject to Ukrainian sanctions; the port of discharge was Giurgiulesti (Moldova).
The vessel is operated by Sarfo Denizcilik Ve Ticaret AS (Turkey), which is affiliated with Raim Alekperov, who is also one of the beneficiaries of Albros Denizcilik Ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi (Turkey).
Albros Denizcilik Ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi was registered on December 12, 1996, is based in Istanbul (Turkey), and specializes in the transportation of bulk, steel, and general/project cargo. The company operates a fleet of shallow-draft dry cargo ships and tankers, provides operational and technical management of its fleet, and offers agency services in the Bosphorus Strait and major Turkish ports.
Alekperov’s business is closely tied to russia: for many years, vessels from his companies’ fleet have carried out regular cargo transportation between Turkey and russia in the Black Sea.
The vessel FITBURG (IMO 9250397) belongs to the fleet of Alekperov’s companies—Sarfo Denizcilik Ve Ticaret AS and Albros Denizcilik Ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi. On December 31, 2025, the vessel FITBURG (IMO 9250397) was detained by the Finnish Coast Guard on suspicion of damaging an underwater telecommunications cable belonging to Elisa between Finland and Estonia. According to the investigation, the vessel was moving with its anchor lowered, dragging along the seabed. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation classifies the case as intentional property damage and obstruction of telecommunications. The attorney for the vessel’s owner in the case of the detention of the FITBURG (IMO 9250397) is Herman Ljungberg, who also served as the lawyer for the company that owns the russian shadow fleet tanker EAGLE S, suspected of severing the Estlink 2 cables between Estonia and Finland with its anchor on December 25, 2024. There were 14 crew members on board the FITBURG (IMO 9250397)—citizens of russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. On January 11, 2026, the Helsinki District Court arrested one of the crew members of the FITBURG, and several other sailors were prohibited from leaving Finnish territory.