LAVRENTIOS

The vessel is a roll-on/roll-off ferry designed to transport heavy vehicles and can carry up to 700 tonnes of cargo, including up to 20 trucks and more than 130 passengers.
Since 2015, in violation of Ukrainian legislation and "Crimean" sanctions, it has made frequent port calls at terminals in the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Crimea (Kerch, Komysh-Burun, Port Krym), delivering cargo – including dangerous goods – and transporting russian military personnel.
On 27 July 2022, it conducted a so-called "technical" (trial) voyage from Yeysk (Krasnodar Krai, russia) to the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol, Ukraine – a route likely used by the russian military to establish supply chains for weapons, military equipment, and personnel to the TOT of Ukraine.
Since October 2022, jointly with the ferry Maria E (IMO 9617923), it has been operating on the strategically important "Crimea– Caucasus" route, which, according to Oboronlogistika LLC, is intended for the delivery of civilian and construction cargo to the TOT of Donbas. The vessel had previously operated on this route between 2015 and 2018, before the commissioning of the Crimean Bridge.
It has been involved in fulfilling tasks assigned by the supreme commander-in-chief of the russian federation at the Kerch ferry crossing. Since March 2018, it has transported troops and cargo for the Rosgvardiya on the "Port Kavkaz – Port Kerch" ferry line, and in November 2022, it was used by OBL-Trans LLC – part of the Oboronlogistika group – in the multimodal delivery of medical equipment (a 27-tonne russian-made mobile CT scanner) to the TOT of Crimea, Ukraine.
The vessel is owned and operated by OBL-Shipping LLC (IMO 5945681, TIN 9705070412, under Ukrainian sanctions), a subsidiary of the sanctioned Oboronlogistika LLC (IMO 5906931, TIN 7718857267). OBL-Shipping LLC also manages the vessels Pizhma (IMO 8814354), Ambal (IMO 8807416), and Sparta II (IMO 9160994) on strategic routes critical for russia, maintains fleet serviceability, ensures compliance with safe operation standards, and is certified to provide maritime transportation services for nuclear materials, radioactive substances, and radioactive waste.