A ship transporting stolen grain from Crimea was arrested in the Black Sea

A foreign vessel involved in the theft of Ukrainian agricultural products was detained in the internal waters of the Black Sea.

The detention took place as part of comprehensive measures to counter economic crimes committed by Russia, the Maritime Guard of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports.

The investigation established that at the end of 2024, the dry cargo ship delivered about 5 thousand tons of Ukrainian wheat from the port of Sevastopol, illegally exported from the temporarily occupied part of southern Ukraine.

“In order to disguise the origin of the cargo, the vessel carried out a raid under the flag of one of the Asian states. During the search on board, navigation equipment, ship documentation and other material evidence were seized, confirming the participation of the vessel and crew in the illegal transportation scheme,” the report says.

The vessel has now been arrested and the crew detained. A pre-trial investigation is underway to document violations of the law and identify persons involved in organizing the illegal voyage.

As previously reported by USM, as of early April 2025, the evidence base includes 39 dry cargo vessels and 80 captains involved in the illegal export of Ukrainian agricultural products from the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian invaders.