Marine vessels

Since the spring of 2022, it has been involved in the systematic theft of Ukrainian grain from the TOT of Ukraine (Sevastopol) and its export to third countries (in particular, Syria) with the AIS signal switched off, using a scheme to conceal the fact that the ship entered a closed Crimean port in violation of the state borders of Ukraine. The bulk carrier was repeatedly spotted near the grain terminals of the ports of Sevastopol and Feodosia. The name 'Maria Ermolova' is used by the vessel to mask its dark activities in the TOT of Crimea during entering/leaving Sevastopol Bay, and at the same time the same name is used by the vessel Matros Koshka (IMO 9550137). Thus, on November 29, 2024, both vessels were recorded in Sevastopol Bay under the name 'Maria Ermolova'. To conduct such a deceptive practice, the two bulk carriers had their false stays painted blue, which made both vessels look similar in color, except for the shade of the main superstructure. Ukraine has served a notice of suspicion to the ship's master, who, in violation of Ukrainian legislation and international maritime law, made illegal calls/exits to/from the closed Sevastopol Commercial Sea Port. The Ukrainian court also arrested the Matros Pozynich in absentia. The sender of the grain is the russian company Pallada LLC (TIN: 6161095847), founded on 03 February 2022, which specialises in the wholesale trade of grain and is involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain from the TOT of Crimea by other vessels, including ‘Grumant’ (IMO 9385879), ‘Mikhail Nenashev’ (IMO 9515539), etc. The vessel is affiliated with the sanctioned russian state-owned shipbuilding holding United Shipbuilding Corporation (TIN: 7838395215) through JSC Southern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Centre (TIN: 3023004670, under Ukrainian sanctions), which is the founder of the company that owns the vessel ‘Matros Pozynich’.

The vessel is involved in a scheme to theft grain from the TOT of Ukraine and export it to third countries (in particular, Turkey) through raid transshipment in the russian port of Kavkaz. For example, in 2022, almost 21,000 tonnes of wheat were stolen using the vessel ‘Krasnodar’, owned by the Kuban Maritime Company LLC. This bulk carrier was used to load grain in the port of Kavkaz from the vessels ‘Vera’, ‘Nadezhda’ and ‘Sormovsky-48’, which transported the stolen grain from the TOT of Crimea. In addition, grain stolen from the Ukrainian port of Berdiansk by the TOT in Zaporizhzhia region was loaded onto the bulk carrier ‘Krasnodar’.

The vessel is involved in a scheme to steal Ukrainian grain from the TOT of Ukraine by receiving grain from other vessels anchored in the Kerch Strait near the TOT of Crimea. The vessel attempted to transport the grain (barley) obtained in this way to the port of Samsun in Turkey. In April 2023, the Ukrainian Party requested the Turkish Party to arrest the vessel, take grain samples and interrogate the captain and crew. The vessel was not arrested and was not accepted in the Turkish port.

The vessel calls at the ports of the TOT of Ukraine (Berdiansk, port Crimea, Kamysh-Burun). The vessel was spotted on 07 February 2024 together with two other unidentified vessels at the berths. The vessel is likely to be involved in the export of stolen Ukrainian grain or scrap metal from the TOT of Ukraine, which clogs one of the port's berths. The vessel was also recorded in this port in June-July 2023.

The vessel is involved in numerous cases of export of Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied port of Mariupol (TOT of Ukraine). The vessel was captured on russian propaganda videos from the temporarily occupied port of Mariupol during the process of loading grain onto several russian vessels ‘STK-1003’ (IMO 8326058), ‘STK-1016’ (IMO 8521880), ‘Mezhdurechensk’ (IMO 8948167). The vessel is owned by the russian company Remote Marine Terminal LLC (TIN: 7810707496). Several companies loaded grain onto the russian vessels: - Santrade LLC (formerly Sanagro LLC, TIN: 6168119060, Rostov-on- Don), which specialises in the wholesale of grain, unprocessed tobacco, seeds and feed for farm animals. In 2023, the company loaded Ukrainian wheat on all three vessels. The founder of Santrade LLC, Mishchuk M.Y., is the founder of three other companies registered in the TOT of Donetsk region and trading in agricultural crops (mainly grain), namely: AF Agroservice LLC (TIN: 9306001978), Aleksandrovskoye LLC (TIN: 9312009862) and Donagroalliance LLC (TIN: 9309020224), as well as a metallurgical enterprise - Donetsk Foundry LLC (TIN: 9308024353); - Zorka Food LLC (TIN: 9721152398, Moscow), which specialises in the wholesale trade of food, grain, etc; - Asta Group LLC (TIN: 9303017257, TOT of Donetsk), specialising in the wholesale of grain, unprocessed tobacco, seeds and feed for farm animals. The founder of Asta Group LLC, Asatryan R. N., owns Farm Agro-Soyuz LLC (TIN: 9500011198, TOT of Kherson region), which specialises in growing cereals (except rice), legumes, and oilseeds; Complex Supply Don LLC (TIN: 6166085722, Rostov-on-Don), which specialises in the production of vehicle bodies and non-specialised trade.

The vessel is involved in the scheme of stealing and exporting Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied Crimea to Turkey by reloading in a russian port the stolen Ukrainian grain previously exported from the TOT Crimea by the ‘Akubens’ vessel (IMO 8891364). The ‘Sword Lion’ arrived in the Kerch Strait with a draft of 6 metres from the Turkish port of Karadeniz Ereğli on 02 July 2023, stayed there until 27 July 2023, after which, having changed the draft to 9.6 metres, it proceeded to the outer harbour of the port of Haifa. The recipient of the agricultural products loaded onto the vessel was the Israeli company ADM Industries Centers ltd (Beit Dagan). According to the official data of this company, the ‘Sword Lion’ vessel delivered a cargo of barley with the status of origin as European, which was not true. The vessel arrived at the outer roadstead of the port of Haifa on 03 August 2023, but did not enter the port. This was likely due to the disclosure of the scheme to steal Ukrainian grain. From 09 to 10 August 2023, the vessel sailed to the coast of Cyprus and entered the outer roads of the port of Famagusta, where it stayed until 15 August 2023 without calling at the port, probably for the same reasons. After that, the vessel moved to the roadstead of the Turkish port of Iskanderun, where, after waiting for six days with AIS turned off, it entered the port and unloaded grain at the berth of a subsidiary of the russian Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant.

It is allegedly involved in a scheme to steal Ukrainian grain from the TOT of Ukraine. Between 22 and 26 September 2023, after approaching the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, the vessel switched off its AIS transponder and continued to move towards the Sea of Azov, where it docked with the vessel STK-1003 (IMO 8326058) to load grain of Ukrainian origin, which had been exported from the temporarily occupied port of Mariupol. After that, the ‘SH Express’ vessel proceeded to deliver the grain to the port of Tripoli (Lebanon). At the same time, there are signs of links between this vessel and russian/related entities through the management of the vessel. The commercial manager of the ‘SH Express’ vessel is Romarine Europe Ltd, a company registered in Liberia, with an office in Greece at the following address: 1st Floor, 11, Agiou Spyridonos Street, 185 35, Piraeus. At the same time, this company also operates another vessel, the ‘Bella’ (IMO 8418356), which has repeatedly called at the seaports of the TOT of Crimea in violation of Ukrainian legislation. In particular, in August 2019, the vessel ‘Bella’ was moored at the grain terminal of the stevedoring company ‘Avlita’ in the closed port of Sevastopol, where the vessel was loaded, and subsequently sailed to Libya. The vessel ‘Bella’ was also involved in the export of grain from the port of Sevastopol (TOT Crimea) to Syria with the AIS signal switched off, the delivery of ilmenite to the port of Feodosia (TOT Crimea), and the export of grain from the ports of Kerch and Sevastopol to Greece.

The vessel is involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain from the TOT of Crimea (Ukraine) and its export to third countries, including Bangladesh. On 23 April 2024, the vessel switched off its AIS off the Turkish coast, and entered the temporarily occupied Sevastopol on 25 April 2024, where it was moored at berth 20. On 29 April 2024, the vessel was moved to berth 21 for loading at the Avlita grain terminal (listed in russian registers as Aval). ‘Sofia' left the port of Sevastopol loaded with wheat on 02 May 2024, according to the documents, the grain was registered for delivery to Bangladesh, the port of destination was indicated as Caucasus in the schedule of movement through the closed port of Sevastopol, the ship's captain was Sergey Ryzhov. On November 18, 2024, the vessel was in Sevastopol Bay, moored to the port side to the bulk carrier Neptune at berth 20 of Dokova Bay. On November 26, 2024, the vessel was moved to berth 19, and repairs are likely to be carried out. The vessel also made three calls to the closed port of Sevastopol in July 2024 with the AIS switched off, loading and exporting more than 18,000 tonnes of barley from the TOT of Crimea.

The vessel is involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain from the ports of the TOT of Crimea (Ukraine) with AIS disabled. In particular, in the period 22-23 March, 02-05 April 2024, the vessel was in the port of Sevastopol with AIS switched off. On 23 March 2024, the vessel departed the port of Sevastopol loaded with wheat, indicating its destination as the port of Kavkaz (russia). On 05 April 2024, the vessel departed Sevastopol with wheat on board. Since 2022, the vessel has been involved in the Bronka-Kaliningrad ferry service (connection between Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions.

The vessel is involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain from the port of Sevastopol (TOT Crimea, Ukraine) with AIS disabled. In particular, the vessel was in Sevastopol between 15 and 22 March 2024, and in Komyshov Bay between 31 March and 04 April 2024 with AIS switched off. On 04 April, the vessel left the port of Sevastopol loaded with sunflower meal and bran. Since 2022, the vessel has been involved in the Bronka-Kaliningrad ferry service (a connection between the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions.

The vessel is involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain from the port of Sevastopol (TOT Crimea, Ukraine) with AIS disabled. In particular, the vessel was at the berth of Dokova Bay on 13 March 2024 loading grain, and between 31 March and 04 April 2024 with AIS switched off. On 04 April, the vessel left the port of Sevastopol loaded with grain (barley) and headed for a transshipment area in the Kerch Strait.

The vessel was involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain from the ports of the TOT of Crimea (Ukraine) with the AIS disabled, and its export, in particular, to the port of Kavkaz for transshipment. Thus, the vessel was involved in a scheme to ‘legalise’ the stolen Ukrainian grain and redirect it to third countries under the guise of grain of russian origin. The vessel has made/is making frequent calls to the ports of the TOT of Ukraine (Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia). Evidence of the vessel's calls to the closed port of Sevastopol and the transportation of grain was published. A Ukrainian court arrested the vessel in the framework of criminal proceedings on violations of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory.