The Russian cargo ship “SV Konstantin” with stolen Ukrainian grain arrived at the port of Tartus in Syria.
The Associated Press writes about this with reference to data from satellite images.
The ship departed from Russian-occupied Crimea on approximately July 6. The Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon told the agency that this ship was transporting stolen wheat, which was loaded in Sevastopol.
The ship passed through the Bosphorus and reached the Turkish city of Izmir on the coast of the Aegean Sea. The vessel then headed further into the Mediterranean along the coast of Cyprus before turning off its automatic identification system on Sunday. Ships are required to keep their trackers on, but vessels wishing to conceal their movements often turn them off. Those heading to Syrian ports do so regularly, the Associated Press writes.
Satellite images analyzed by the AP show the SV Konstantin was near Tartus on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"On board this vessel there is grain that was stolen and illegally transported by the Russian occupation authorities from warehouses located in the temporarily occupied territories in the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts," the Ukrainian embassy reported.
- Earlier, a dry cargo vessel Souria was spotted off the coast of Turkey, carrying Ukrainian grain from the port of Feodosia under the flag of Syria.
- In June, Radio Svoboda reported that Souria was transporting Ukrainian grain stolen by the Russians. The vessels "Matros Pozynych", Syrian bulker “Finikia”, "Matros Koshka" and "Mikhail Nenashev" are also involved in this process.