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Ukrainian Court Orders Sale of Russian Tanker Involved in 2018 Incident

Russian tanker
Russian-owned tanker Nika Spirt detained in Ukraine since 2019 has been ordered sold (DPSU)

Published Nov 5, 2024 2:31 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) responsible for seized assets during the war reports it has received court authority to proceed with the sale of a Russian tanker Ukraine has detained since 2019. The product tanker, which was involved in an incident pre-dating the February 2022 invasion, will be sold to provide funds for the Ukrainian defense efforts.

ARMA reports a change in strategy deciding it can be more effective in selling seized Russian assets instead of the prior plan to manage the assets for income. It is making preparations for an online auction to sell the tanker after receiving authorization from the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv. According to the report, the agency had appealed to the court for authority and is in the process of seeking an independent appraiser to set the value of the tanker.

The tanker known as Neyma (3,800 dwt) and registered in Russia was involved in a November 2018 incident where it claimed to have grounded near the Kerch Strait Bridge's main channel. The channel was blocked 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. 

The tanker appeared in July 2019 in Izmir where the Ukrainian authorities moved to detain the ship for its involvement in the incident. The vessel was displaying the name Nika Spirit but was still using the same IMO identification number as Neyma. Ukraine released the crew but continued to hold the vessel.

ARMA took custody of the tanker after the invasion and in 2023 reported it had selected a manager to operate the Nika Spirit until 2026. The agency has instead decided to sell the ship to quickly raise badly needed funds for Ukraine. Instead of transferring individual assets to management, ARMA now says in times of war it “sees fit to focus on the sale of valuable seized assets.”

ARMA previously sold via auction 1.2 thousand tons of grain seized in Mykolaiv. The agency was also awarded control in October 2024 of another vessel USKO MFU which was charged with repeatedly entering the occupied territory in Crimea and illegally transporting Ukrainian goods from the ports. 

The agency also has control of the bulker Emmakris III (73,000 dwt) which was in the port of Chornomorsk at the time of the invasion. ARMA presented documentation in court showing the vessel’s beneficial owners were a Russian company, Linter, registered in the city of Rostov-on-Don, although the ship is registered in Panama and listed as being managed by a company in the UAE. ARMA said in August 2024 that it was seeking a manager for the ship.

After the invasion, Ukraine seized Russian vessels that had arrived in Ukraine in late 2021 and early 2022. The vessels were arrested as part of a criminal investigation and claims they were being used to fund the Russian Federation and its army. Ten of the ships were placed under management contracts in 2022 to provide income to Ukraine.