Sanctioned vessel “Kapitan Yakovlev” heads to Svalbard

Upon entering territorial waters, a standard customs and police check is likely to take place.

The Russian vessel “Kapitan Yakovlev” (IMO 9077575) set course for the Spitsbergen archipelago, arriving in Barentsburg on September 11. This was reported by Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist for the SeaKrime project of the Peacekeeper Center.

The Kapitan Yakovlev is under sanctions by the US and Ukraine – it is suspected of transporting military cargo for the Russian Federation. The current cargo is not officially disclosed; it is assumed that the voyage may be related to Russian coal mining. At the same time, neither the EU nor Norway have imposed sanctions against the Northern Shipping Company, which owns the vessel.

Yaresko recalls that in May, the Kapitan Yakovlev exported a batch of illegally appropriated Ukrainian wheat from occupied Berdyansk.

Note that Barentsburg is one of the key points of the Russian presence in Spitsbergen; any actions of sanctions vessels in this area are under the close attention of law enforcement and customs authorities.

Also, the day before, USM wrote that a “conveyor” for the transshipment of stolen Ukrainian grain is operating in Crimea.