Ukraine is Trying to Auction Off Seized Bulker Stuck in Chornomorsk
Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) reports it is ready to sell a seized bulker that it has been fighting over for the past several years, claiming it is owned by Russian interests. The vessel, Emmakris III, has been trapped in Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022.
The vessel has been posted on ARMA’s website, and its press office reports the vessel is being prepared for sale. It had tried to sell the ship earlier, but in 2024 decided to seek a manager to use the ship for grain storage while it continued to pursue the case through the courts. In 2025, reports said ARMA had been successful in the courts in stopping the removal of a Panama-flagged bulker.
The vessel was built in Japan in 2000 and is 73,000 dwt. ARMA presented evidence in court that although the vessel’s registered owners are reported to be in the UAE, the beneficial owners are a Russian company, Linter, registered in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Equasis reported that the vessel was managed from Turkey. It reports the vessel was renamed Akris in 2025 (IMO 9218387), although Ukraine continues to use its former name.
At the start of the war, the Emmakris III was in Chornomorsk to load approximately 60,000 tons of grain bought by the Egyptian government. Pictures of the ship show it sitting abandoned at the port, riding high in the water.
When Ukraine took control of the ship in 2024, it had the vessel inspected and appraised. At the time, it was reportedly valued at $2.6 million, and ARMA said it ascertained that it is in a “healthy state.” The most recent listing stated that the vessel remains in “satisfactory condition.”
ARMA has not indicated when the sale would commence. Its mission is to raise funds from confiscated assets to compensate the state for its financial losses during the war. The assets are awarded by the courts.
The effort to sell the Emmakris III follows a failed sale of derelict river and coastal vessels earlier this month. ARMA listed in September a lot of nine vessels, all detained in the Izmail area on the Danube. It set a valuation for the lot of nearly $3.4 million, saying the vessels were being sold “as is where is.”
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All the vessels dated from the 1970s and 1980s, and the problem was that several of the vessels were described as damaged and others in poor condition after years of inactivity and a lack of maintenance. One of the vessels, Svir, was reported to have a hole from a UAV strike, with water flooding its two engines. It is grounded on the river. The lots also included several of the Soviet-era VolgoBalt vessels, but one also was reported to have a hole and flooding, as did a third vessel named Naviger 2. The Omskiy-132 was also reported to have engine room flooding.
Not surprisingly, no bidders presented at the October 8 auction. In addition to the purchase cost, the buyer would have had to pay approximately $13 million in customs duties and the cost of the removal of the vessels. One commentator looking at the auction quickly concluded the vessels were all junk destined for the scrapyard.
