COMETA

The vessel has been implicated in grain theft schemes involving the export of Ukrainian grain from ports in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine while operating with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) disabled. In mid-September 2022, the Syrian-flagged vessel was among the first to export 2,500 tons of Ukrainian grain to Turkey, loaded at the port of temporarily occupied Berdiansk.
The vessel regularly calls at ports in the TOT of Ukraine (Sevastopol, Komysh-Burun), delivering construction mixtures from Turkey. It is also engaged in ilmenite shipments, transporting raw materials from the Turkish port of Ambarli to the Crimean Titan titanium plant, which was seized by russia.
The vessel has a documented pattern of frequently changing its name, ownership, and management in order to evade sanctions and continue operations along established smuggling routes.
In May 2023, the United States imposed sanctions on the vessel for facilitating the theft of Ukrainian grain and for the consistent use of AIS disablement to conceal its location and the origin of the transported cargo.