IPSALA

The owner and commercial manager of the bulk carrier since October 2022 is Turkish sanctioned company Artvin Denizcilik Ve Ticaret, founded in June 2022. The company's fleet consists of vessels carrying bulk cargoes (grain, ore). The board of directors of Artvin Denizcilik Ve Ticaret includes russian citizens. In April 2023, USA imposed sanctions on Artvin Denizcilik Ve Ticaret and the vessels in its fleet (including the "Ipsala") due to ties to the russian sanctioned shipping company Pola Rise LLC, which specializes in export-import transportation of bulk, general and project cargoes in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Azov Sea, Caspian Sea, Baltic Sea, White Sea, North Sea, including voyages around Europe, as well as russian inland waterways.
Pola Rise LLC and 22 affiliated vessels were sanctioned for their activities in the maritime sector of the russian economy, participation in increasing russia's trade with Turkey, and facilitating the delivery of materials to construction sites in the Arctic.