Syria continues to receive stolen Ukrainian grain from Russia
14.10.2025 - 09:40
A Russian-flagged ship loaded with stolen grain in Sevastopol arrived for unloading at the port of Latakia (Syria).
This was reported by Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist for the SeaKrime project of the Peacemaker Center.
The bulk carrier Matros Koshka (IMO:9550137), which loaded 27,500 tons of grain in occupied Sevastopol at the Avlita grain terminal from October 3 to 10, turned off its AIS.
“But we know that it arrived in Latakia for unloading. So, Syria is accepting stolen grain from Russia. I wonder on what terms?” Kateryna Yaresko wrote.
The Defense Intelligence War&Sanctions portal indicates that since the beginning of 2022, the ship has been involved in the systematic theft of Ukrainian grain from the TOT of Ukraine (Sevastopol) to Syria, Turkey, and also through transshipment at the port of Kavkaz (Russia) with the AIS signal turned off. Also, to mask its activities on the Crimean TOT during entry/exit from the Sevastopol Bay, the bulk carrier uses the name “Maria Ermolova” for the vessel, while the same name is used by the vessel with IMO: 9573816.
As previously reported by USM, the Ukrainian grain loaded onto the stolen bulk carrier Matros Koshka comes mainly from the occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
