A ship with Ukrainian grain has been detained in the port of Yemen for a month

A ship carrying about 18,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat has been held in the Yemeni port of Al-Mukalla for over a month. The crew is also unable to leave the ship.

The ship is the M/V Toi Challenger, writes Latifundist.

The director of the ship’s owner, Integrated Transport Management Group, and vice president of the Odessa Sea Captains’ Association, Captain Andriy Naumenko, said that the situation bears signs of commercial manipulation and a gross violation of international maritime law.

According to him, the wheat was intended for Al Rayyan Salalah Mills and Arabian Sea Fisheries.

“The cargo was transported on the basis of “clean” bills of lading, which certified the proper condition of the goods during loading at the port of departure,” Naumenko assures.

He said that upon arrival, the consignees refused to accept the goods without providing any legal reasons.

Lawyers and experts suggest a possible collusion between local authorities and commercial entities, which led to the de facto holding of the vessel and crew hostage in a regional commercial conflict.

The company reported that the shipowner’s losses have already exceeded a six-figure sum in euros due to downtime costs, lost time charter contracts and reputational losses. The situation is complicated by the fact that Yemen remains a zone of active military conflict, which poses risks to the lives of the crew. Some of the sailors are on board beyond the established terms of their contracts without being able to leave the vessel.

In particular, information about the vessel’s detention was confirmed by the freight broker and founder of MB Navigation S.A. Konstantin Sobol, who is consulting the company to resolve this issue.

We would recall that Ukraine previously sent grain to Yemen as part of the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian initiative with the support of the UN World Food Program (WFP). In particular, food was supplied on the ship Negmar Cicek.