Ukraine Prosecuting Ship’s Officers for Entering Sevastopol
Ukraine’s Prosecutor for Crimea and the City of Sevastopol is proceeding with charges against a second officer from a small bulker Ukraine detained in July on charges of illegally entering the city and transporting grain from the port. The unidentified officer is the second person to be charged with sanctions violations which could result in five years in prison.
The crackdown on the two officers is part of a wider effort by Ukraine to prosecute for violating the prohibition on entering Crimea and trading or exporting goods since the invasion and annexation by Russia. Ukrainian prosecutors have filed charges against 21 vessels in absentia for violating the sanctions and helping Russia evade the restrictions.
Media reports from Romania assert that Ukraine is making an example of the two seafarers after it was successful in seizing the vessel they were aboard in July. According to the reports in the Romanian media, the small bulker Usko Mfu (2,850 dwt) registered in Cameroon was just over six miles out of Giurgiulesti Port in Romania when it was approached by Ukrainian forces on July 4. They ordered the vessel to slow and prepare a ladder for boarding.
The report says the 12 crewmembers, five Turks and seven Azerbaijanis, were detained in the ship’s mess hall while they waited for the decision of a Ukrainian court to detain the ship and its crew. The Romanian pilot was not detained and he supplied the account to the media. The ship was told to anchor on the Ukrainian side of the Danube near Reni.
As of early September, the crew remained aboard the vessel although it was expected that they would be soon released. The ship is owned by a company in Turkey. The reports said it was loaded with 3,300 tons of barley when it was detained. The Romanian pilot said he was to guide the ship to Sulina before disembarking and the ship was going to Kriti, Greece.
Yesterday, September 25, the Crimea and City of Sevastopol prosecutor’s office officially charged the second one of the officers from the vessel which they contend commanded the ship when it entered Sevastopol. Another officer who they contend was in command of the vessel in June when it made a return trip into Sevastopol was previously charged for the sanction violations.
The prosecutor said their investigation showed the Usko Mfu entered the port in October 2023. There it loaded 3,000 tons of agro-product and departed in November transporting the product to a buyer in Turkey. Further, they allege the captain breached maritime regulations and safety protocols by turning off the vessel’s AIS signal while they were making the “illegal exit” from Crimea.
They also allege the vessel made several repeat trips to Sevastopol. They cite a May 2024 trip where it again turned off its AIS to enter the closed port. It left with cargo for Istanbul. It made another trip in June 2024 when the officer previously arrested, a citizen of Azerbaijan, was in command.
The vessel remains anchored on the Danube near Remi. The Ukrainian court ordered it seized in July after it was stopped.