The Ukrainian prosecutor's office has asked Turkey to seize a vessel carrying 19,000 tons of grain stolen from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories.
The CFTS portal reported this, citing The Wall Street Journal publication.
According to the publication, the Panamanian-flagged Bomustafa O vessel arrived in the Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun on Monday, 17 April, with a cargo of 19,000 tons of barley.
A few days before that, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office asked the Turkish authorities to seize the vessel, saying it had loaded barley at a port in Russian-occupied Crimea.
According to prosecutors, stolen grain was transferred from other ships onto the ship while anchored in the Kerch Strait off Crimea. Ukrainian prosecutors said some grain transfers took place when the ship switched off its AIS to make it impossible to track its movement.
Ukrainian prosecutors asked Turkish authorities to take samples of the grain and question its captain and crew.
The publication did not specify Turkey’s response to Ukraine’s request to seize the ship. Representatives of the Turkish administration did not respond to The Wall Street Journal's request to clarify the situation.
The Bomustafa O vessel is managed by a company based in Dubai, Tower Shipping Co., and is owned by one of the company’s subsidiaries Alvion Maritime Ltd., the publication wrote.
According to the publication, Russian companies have shipped thousands of tons of grain stolen from Ukraine using a complex smuggling operation that involves mixing grain from various sources at sea, but Russia denies it is stealing grain from Ukraine.
Against this backdrop, Russia continues to sabotage and harm the operation of the humanitarian maritime corridor that was established under the Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow ships to export grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine. In particular, Russia’s representatives at the Black Sea Grain Initiative’s Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul have been blocking the registration of new vessels bound for Ukrainian seaports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative and refusing to work in line with Ukrainian seaports’ plans since 10 April. This has made it impossible to draw up ship inspection plans and essentially stopped new vessels from entering Ukrainian seaports under the grain initiative. No inspection plans were drawn up and no inspections were conducted in Turkish territorial waters on 17-18 April.
Russia is once again demanding the resumption of the export of its ammonia through Ukrainian territory in exchange for allowing the operation of the humanitarian maritime corridor. Specifically, Russia is seeking resumption of the operation of the Togliatti - Odesa ammonia pipeline, which transports Russian ammonia to the Pivdennyi seaport for loading onto ships and transportation through the Black Sea. While using this to exert pressure, the Russian Federation is building a terminal for the transshipment of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers in the port of Taman.
