Russians establish illegal technical surveillance of Ukrainian vessel “Captain Ziber”
9.01.2026 - 15:49
The State Hydrographic Service vessel, which the Russians seized in 2022, underwent an illegal classification inspection by the institution “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping”.
We are talking about the small hydrographic vessel “Captain Ziber” of the R101GS.M project (flag Ukraine, MMSI number 272142100), said the head of the Shipping Administration, Mykola Kravchuk.
According to him, the issuance of ship documents was carried out by inspectors of the so-called Sevastopol division of the Russian register.
“What has been done is a gross encroachment on Ukraine’s jurisdiction over its own merchant fleet and sovereignty over internal sea waters. Russia violated the provisions of the UNCLOS Convention on the nationality, registration and immunity of ships, as well as regulation V/9 of the SOLAS Convention, which obliges international cooperation and coordination of the parties during navigation and hydrographic support of shipping,” Mykola Kravchuk emphasized.
The Shipping Administration noted that the vessel “Captain Siber” is owned by Ukraine, and the registered shipowner is the state institution “State Hydrography”. The vessel was built in 1968 at the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant in Mykolaiv, and in 2015 it underwent a comprehensive modernization of the hull and equipment at the Kyiv Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant. Repair and further use are carried out under the technical and classification supervision of the State Enterprise “Classification Society of the Register of Shipping of Ukraine”.
Until March 2022, “Captain Ziber” performed tasks in the area of responsibility of the Mariupol district of the “Mykolaiv District” branch of the State Hydrographic Service: it carried out surveying work and installed navigation marks in the water areas of the seaports of Berdyansk and Mariupol.
The Head of the Shipping Administration noted that, according to the occupation administration, the issuance of certificates for “Captain Ziber” is “strategically important” for the operation of the ports of the Sea of Azov, officially closed by Ukraine since April 28, 2022.
“The work of the Russian maritime register of shipping in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, along with the provision of services to many vessels of the Russian “shadow fleet”, indicates its active contribution to the aggressive war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. We appeal to the maritime community to follow the example of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) – to refuse any cooperation with the federal autonomous institutions “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping” and “Russian Classification Society”, strictly adhering to the norms of international law and respecting the sovereignty of flag states and coastal states,” Mykola Kravchuk emphasized.
Read also: Port in occupied Mariupol almost stopped working due to ice.
