A Ukrainian court seizes a Turkish cargo ship for entering the Crimean peninsula; it records at least three ships sailing to Crimea.
A Ukrainian court has authorized the state to seize a cargo ship seized for repeatedly entering occupied Crimea for commercial activities. The ownership of the Usko MFU (2,850 dwt) was transferred to Ukraine. At the same time, two of the ship’s senior crew members were also accused of engaging in commercial activities in the occupied territory, “harming the interests of the state.”
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine announced the seizure of the 1982-built ship. According to media reports, it is worth $600,000. The database shows that Turkey’s Usko Shipping owns it.
Ukrainian authorities seized the ship in July while it was sailing on the Danube, allegedly carrying barley bound for Greece. The Ukrainian Navy seized the ship and later arrested the crew members with the court’s permission. A total of 12 crew members were on board, including five from Turkey and seven from Azerbaijan.
Ukraine said the vessel entered Crimea in October 2023, loading more than 3,000 tons of agricultural products for a Turkish company. After turning off its AIS system, they also determined that the ship entered Sevastopol in May 2024.
The ship unloaded an unknown cargo in Crimea. In June 2024, it returned to Crimea, also loading agricultural products for export. Ukraine claims this violates international maritime law and Ukrainian legislation that makes it illegal to do business in occupied territories.
Two officers who are said to be the ship’s captains have also been arrested and face trial. The first captain was charged after the ship was detained, and the second captain was charged after Ukrainian authorities reviewed information in the ship’s logbook.
Usko Shipping told Lloyd’s Daily that the activities in Crimea took place before it acquired the ship. The database shows that the company acquired the Cameroon-registered ship in March 2024.
This is the first time a ship has been prosecuted for entering Crimea, although Ukraine has detained at least one other ship. Ukrainian media reported that the court ordered the seizure of five ships, bringing the total number of ships accused of breaking the law to 59 that were seized. The court has also ordered the seizure of dozens of Russian commercial aircraft on similar charges in the past.
