Ukraine Completes Sale of Russian Tanker Seized in 2019

 

Ukraine’s National Agency for Tracing and Asset Management (ARMA) reported the completion of the sale of a controversial Russian tanker that was alleged to have been involved in a 2018 incident in which Russia arrested Ukrainian Navy sailors. The vessel was seized the following year and was sold to raise cash for Ukraine’s economy.

The arrest and sanctions against a small tanker known as Nika Spirit (3,800 dwt) were officially lifted by the courts. ARMA petitioned to release the vessel, reporting it has completed an auction and sale of the tanker to a Ukrainian entity, which was the successful bidder in an online auction that was completed in April.

ARMA Chairman Olena Duma noted that "This case is an example of how the sale of arrested vessels can directly replenish the State Budget of Ukraine. Currently, ARMA is managing 16 arrested vessels. And our principled position is that such assets should be transferred to ARMA specifically for sale, and not for management."

The vessel was seized in July 2019 while at the port of Izmir on the Danube. Ukraine alleged the ship had the same IMO ID number as the tanker Neyma, which had been at the center of the 2018 incident near the main channel at the Kerch Strait Bridge. The Neyma claimed to have grounded, but Ukraine asserts it was used to block the channel to coincide with the passage of three Ukrainian naval vessels from Odesa to the port of Mariupol. The vessels were attacked by Russian forces, which boarded the ships and seized 24 Ukrainian crewmembers. The Russian authorities charged them as civilians for violating the Russian border.

ARMA took custody of the tanker after the invasion and in 2023 reported it had selected a manager to operate the Nika Spirit. The agency later decided to sell the ship to raise badly needed funds for Ukraine. ARMA reported at the time that, given the need to replenish the state budget, it was going to focus on the sale of assets.

The courts approved the sale process in late 2024. An independent auditor, however, told ARMA that the vessel was “80 percent worn out,” and said the restoration would require as much as $480,000. The anticipated price at auction for the vessel was set at just $57,500, but with four active bidders, the sale concluded at $153,000.

The court found that the sale had been completed in “good faith at an open auction,” and lifted the arrest against the tanker. ARMA highlights that seized assets are not just being stored, but being “transformed into real resources” for the Ukrainian economy.