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. In January, February, and May 2025, the vessel sailed from Sevastopol to Alexandria (Egypt) with a cargo of grain. In April 2025, the vessel was loaded with grain at the Avlita grain terminal in Dokova Bay. 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 ІМО 9296781, owned by the Kuban Maritime Company LLC. This bulk carrier was used to load grain in the port of Kavkaz from the vessels ІМО 8602957, ІМО 8611221, ІМО 8226428, 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 has been implicated in a grain theft scheme involving shipments from the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Ukraine by receiving grain from other vessels anchored in the Kerch Strait near the TOT of Crimea, Ukraine. It attempted to transport the grain (barley) obtained in this manner to Port Samsun (Turkey). In April 2023, the Ukrainian authorities requested that the Turkish authorities arrest the vessel, take grain samples, and interrogate the captain and crew. The vessel was not arrested and was not permitted to enter the Turkish port.

The vessel has been implicated in grain theft schemes involving shipments from the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Ukraine, including, in 2024, from the temporarily occupied port of Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region. The vessel has made port calls at ports in the TOT of Ukraine, including Berdiansk, Crimea, Komysh-Burun, and Sevastopol.

The vessel is involved in multiple instances of the export of Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied port of Mariupol (temporarily occupied territory – TOT Ukraine). It was documented in russian propaganda footage from the TOT port of Mariupol during the loading of grain onto several russian-flagged vessels: STK-1003 (IMO 8326058), STK-1016 (IMO 8521880), and Mezhdurechensk (IMO 8948167). The vessel is owned by the russian company Remote Marine Terminal LLC (ООО "Удалённый морской терминал", TIN 7810707496). Grain was loaded onto these russian vessels by several entities: - Santrade LLC (formerly Sanagro LLC, ООО "Сантрейд", TIN 6168119060, Rostov-on-Don), a company engaged in the wholesale of grain, unprocessed tobacco, seeds, and animal feed. In 2023, the company was involved in loading Ukrainian wheat onto all three vessels. Its founder, M. Y. Mishchuk, is also the founder of three companies registered in the TOT of Donetsk region that trade agricultural commodities (primarily grain): AF Agroservice LLC (ООО "АФ Агросервис", TIN 9306001978), Aleksandrovskoye LLC (ООО "Александровское", TIN 9312009862), and Donagroalliance LLC (ООО "Донагроальянс", TIN 9309020224), as well as a metallurgical company – Donetsk Foundry Plant LLC (ООО "Донецкий литейный завод", TIN 9308024353); - Zorka Food LLC (ООО "Зорка Фуд", TIN 9721152398, Moscow), which specializes in the wholesale of food, grain, and related products; - Asta Group LLC (ООО "Аста Групп", TIN 9303017257, TOT Donetsk), also specializing in the wholesale of grain, unprocessed tobacco, seeds, and animal feed. Its founder, R. N. Asatryan, owns Agro-Soyuz Farming Enterprise LLC (КФХ "Агро-Союз", TIN 9500011198, TOT Kherson region), engaged in the cultivation of cereals (excluding rice), legumes, and oilseeds, as well as Complex Supply Don LLC (ООО "Комплексное снабжение Дон", TIN 6166085722, Rostov-on-Don), which manufactures vehicle bodies and conducts non-specialized trade.

The vessel has been implicated in grain theft schemes involving the Avlita grain terminal in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol (temporarily occupied territory – TOT of Crimea, Ukraine) in July and August 2022, with the stolen grain transshipped to the russian Port Kavkaz, as well as from the port of Kerch (TOT of Crimea, Ukraine). A Ukrainian court served the vessel’s captain with a notice of suspicion. The captain made seven port calls at the closed commercial seaports of Sevastopol and Kerch (TOT of Crimea, Ukraine) to load looted Ukrainian grain, periodically disabling the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and entering false course data to indicate alleged voyages to russian ports rather than to the closed ports of TOT of Crimea, Ukraine. The Turkish agricultural company Bek Tarim, the russian company Fast LLC (ООО "Фаст", TIN 2376000774), and Petrokhleb-Kuban LLC (ООО "Петрохлеб-Кубань", TIN 2310109650) have been involved in the vessel’s grain export activities. The vessel is managed by Kuban Marine Company LLC (ООО "Кубанская морская компания", TIN 2310213041), a russian company affiliated with Petrokhleb-Kuban LLC. Kuban Marine Company LLC operates three other vessels engaged in illegal voyages to closed ports of TOT of Crimea, Ukraine. The vessel has also been involved in smuggling ilmenite—while AIS was disabled—for the Crimean Titan (АО "Крымский титан") plant, seized in TOT of Crimea, Ukraine, through ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Black Sea for delivery to the port of Kerch (TOT of Crimea, Ukraine). The vessel has been in violation of Ukrainian legislation and the so-called "Crimean sanctions" since 2015, having made numerous port calls at Kerch (TOT of Crimea, Ukraine) since that year, including for raid transshipments in the Kerch Strait.

The vessel has been implicated in a grain theft scheme involving the export of stolen Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Crimea, Ukraine, to Turkey, by reloading in a russian port grain previously exported from the TOT of Crimea, Ukraine, by the vessel Akubens (IMO 8891364). On 2 July 2023, Sword Lion arrived in the Kerch Strait from Port Karadeniz Ereğli (Turkey) with a draft of 6 metres and remained there until 27 July 2023. It then increased its draft to 9.6 metres and proceeded to the outer anchorage of Port Haifa (Israel). The declared recipient of the agricultural cargo was the Israeli company ADM Industries Centers Ltd (Beit Dagan). According to the company’s official records, Sword Lion delivered a shipment of barley labelled as having European origin — a claim that was false. The vessel arrived at Haifa’s outer anchorage on 3 August 2023 but did not enter the port, likely due to the public disclosure of the grain theft scheme. Between 9 and 10 August 2023, the vessel sailed to the coast of Cyprus and anchored at the outer roads of Port Famagusta, remaining there until 15 August 2023 without entering port, likely for the same reasons. It subsequently proceeded to the anchorage of Port Iskenderun (Turkey), where, after six days at anchor with AIS disabled, it entered the port and discharged the grain at a berth operated by a subsidiary of the russian Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant.

The vessel has been implicated in grain theft schemes involving the export of Ukrainian grain from the ports of Sevastopol and Kerch (temporarily occupied territory – TOT of Crimea, Ukraine), with its AIS (Automatic Identification System) signal disabled, and in its further export, including to the russian Port Kavkaz for transshipment, the Turkish port of Samsun, and from the temporarily occupied port of Berdiansk in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. In 2019– 2020, the vessel was also involved in schemes to deliver Ukrainian ilmenite concentrate to TOT of Crimea, Ukraine for the Ukrainian titanium plant Krymskiy Titan, which was seized by russia. The concentrate was shipped from Odesa (Ukraine) to Turkey, where it was transshipped onto a vessel that delivered it, with its AIS signal disabled, to the port of Komysh-Burun (TOT of Crimea, Ukraine).

The vessel has been implicated in grain theft schemes involving the removal of Ukrainian grain from the ports of Sevastopol, Feodosia, and Kerch (temporarily occupied territory – TOT of Crimea, Ukraine) with the Automatic Identification System (AIS) disabled, and its subsequent delivery to Turkey and the russian Port Kavkaz. In particular, between 4 and 6 January 2024, the vessel loaded 3,000 tons of wheat at a grain terminal in temporarily occupied Sevastopol and then delivered it to the anchorage of Port Kavkaz for a bulk carrier bound for Indonesia. The vessel has also been involved in the delivery of Turkish construction mixtures to TOT of Crimea, Ukraine. A Ukrainian court has served a notice of suspicion to the vessel’s captain and ordered the arrest of the vessel in absentia. On 18– 19 June 2025, the vessel was moored at berth 21 of the Avlita grain terminal in Sevastopol Bay. On 19 June 2025, the vessel departed from the port of Sevastopol, Sevastopol Bay.

The vessel has been allegedly implicated in a grain theft scheme involving shipments from the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Ukraine. Between 22 and 26 September 2023, after approaching the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, the vessel disabled its Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder and proceeded towards the Sea of Azov, where it docked with the vessel IMO 8326058 to load grain of Ukrainian origin exported from the temporarily occupied port of Mariupol. The vessel IMO 9085443 then proceeded to deliver the cargo to Port Tripoli (Lebanon). There are indications of links between this vessel and russian or russia-related entities through its management. The commercial manager of the vessel IMO 9085443 is Romarine Europe Ltd, a company registered in Liberia with an office in Greece (1st Floor, 11, Agiou Spyridonos Street, 185 35, Piraeus). Romarine Europe Ltd also operates another vessel, IMO 8418356, which has repeatedly called at seaports in the TOT of Crimea, Ukraine, in violation of Ukrainian legislation. In August 2019, the vessel IMO 8418356 was moored at the grain terminal of the stevedoring company Avlita in the closed Port Sevastopol, where it was loaded before sailing to Libya. IMO 8418356 has also been implicated in grain exports from Port Sevastopol (TOT of Crimea, Ukraine) to Syria with AIS disabled, the delivery of ilmenite to Port Feodosia (TOT of Crimea, Ukraine), and grain exports from Ports Kerch and Sevastopol to Greece.

The vessel has been implicated in transporting Ukrainian coal and grain from the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Ukraine and has made port calls at ports in the TOT of Ukraine. On 4 June 2024, the vessel was present in the temporarily occupied closed port of Sevastopol, with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) disabled during the port call. During 2024–2025, the vessel transported more than 20,000 tons of coking coal from the temporarily occupied Ukrainian port of Mariupol, including shipments to Turkey, using the following scheme: it officially called at the russian port of Temryuk; disabled AIS; proceeded to the port of Mariupol for loading; returned to Temryuk with cargo; reactivated AIS; and then sailed to the final port of destination. The vessel is owned and operated by Nika Shipping LLC (ООО "Ника Шиппинг", TIN 9303032939), a company established under russian law in April 2023 and originally registered in the TOT of Donetsk region (city of Donetsk) at the same address as another russian company, Nika Trade Invest LLC (ООО "Ника Трейд Инвест", TIN 9303023317). In 2025, Nika Shipping LLC was re-registered at an address in Moscow. Nika Trade Invest LLC specialises in the extraction of minerals and kaolin, as well as coal enrichment. Information on the company’s director and founders is not publicly disclosed, which may indicate their involvement in fulfilling the russian state defence order. By the end of 2024, Nika Trade Invest LLC’s revenue had increased by almost 80% to RUB 1.6 billion. In March 2024, the company became a resident of the russian federation’s free economic zone as a kaolin enrichment enterprise and was granted access to the unique "Bila Balka" deposit located near the temporarily occupied city of Volnovakha. Nika Trade Invest LLC is affiliated with Lyudmila Gurova (TIN 616103297808), the majority beneficiary of another russian company, Roboavia LLC (ООО "Робоавиа", TIN 9102166435, under Ukrainian sanctions), which develops and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Rostov region of the russian federation. In 2023, Roboavia LLC signed an agreement with the Rostov regional authorities to implement an investment project. The company is constructing a plant in the city with the aim of producing 1,100 drones annually. In September 2023, Roboavia LLC also became a resident of the "Era" Military Innovation Complex — a project of the russian Ministry of Defence for the development of advanced weapons. Technical management of the vessel is carried out by Krechet LLC (ООО "Кречет", Rostov region, TIN 6167197524). The company’s former director, Oleksandr Soldatov (TIN 614104187473), has been serving since 27 July 2023 as the head of the occupation Administration of the Mariupol Seaport (Администрация морского порта Мариуполь, TIN 9310000303). Krechet LLC also manages three other vessels (IMO 1041348, IMO 9419084, IMO 9454125) engaged in exporting Ukrainian coal from the temporarily occupied port of Mariupol.

The vessel is involved in the theft of Ukrainian grain from the TOT of Ukraine (from the ports of Sevastopol and Berdiansk) and its transportation to third countries. 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. 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. 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. In May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 2024, the vessel was involved in the transportation of barley and wheat from the temporarily occupied port of Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia region, in particular to Egypt and Libya. In January 2025, the vessel called at the port of Sevastopol three times (21 berths of the Avlita grain terminal) and departed loaded with wheat. In February and March 2025, the vessel was involved in the transportation of grain from the temporarily occupied port of Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region. On April 02-09, 2025, the vessel was in Sevastopol Bay on loading wheat at berth 21 of the Avlita grain terminal. In the period of April 16-18, 2025, the vessel was in Sevastopol Bay on loading wheat at berth 21 of the Avlita grain terminal with AIS turned off. On April 18, the vessel left Sevastopol Bay and sailed to the port of Kavkaz loaded with wheat. On June 08-13, 2025, the vessel was in Sevastopol Bay, Dokova Bay, to load grain. On June 13, 2025, the vessel left Sevastopol Bay loaded with wheat and sailed to the port of Kerch. On June 16-18, 22-25, 2025, the vessel was in Sevastopol Bay for loading grain at berth 21 of the Avlita grain terminal. On June 18 and 25, 2025, respectively, the vessel left Sevastopol Bay loaded with wheat.