The Cameroonian-flagged vessel Usko Mfu has been implicated in transporting grain for Russia to the Middle East, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The ship has reportedly made multiple trips to the Crimean port of Sevastopol since last year to load several tonnes of what is described as “looted” grain.
Sevastopol is a crucial military hub for Russia on the Black Sea.
To evade detection, the SBU claims the vessel frequently disabled its GPS tracker and falsified travel logs.
The ship’s captain, an Azerbaijani citizen, faces up to five years in prison for violating travel restrictions in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories.
It remains unclear if the 12 other foreign crew members, who prosecutors said were also on board when the vessel was seized, will face charges.
“The investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and identify other persons involved in the illegal activity,” the SBU stated.
Russian forces have occupied significant portions of southern Ukraine’s agricultural regions since their 2022 invasion, and Kyiv has accused Russia of stealing and destroying its grain.
Ukraine also holds Russia responsible for withdrawing from a United Nations-brokered deal in 2023 that had allowed Kyiv to safely transport grain across the Black Sea, significantly reducing its food exports.
In response, Ukraine has established new sea routes, often close to the coast, to circumvent Russia’s de facto blockade, bringing its grain exports back to near pre-war levels.
In May, the European Union imposed “prohibitive” duties on grain imports from Russia to cut off revenue streams for Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
The EU’s trade commissioner stated that the measure aimed to “tackle illegal Russian exports of stolen Ukrainian grain into EU markets.”
