MATROS POZYNICH

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Bulk carriers detected while transporting grain from occupied Ukrainian territories to Iran

The 'Mikhail Nenashev' is one of about 10 ships engaged in grain transport from occupied territories in Ukraine, as Russian ships are increasingly loading grain from Crimea and other occupied areas in Ukraine. Most grain, coming from Mariupol, Berdiansk and Azov in southeastern Ukraine, goes to Iran. The grain from Ukraine is subject to the sanctions that Western countries have declared, Russian grain is not. In some cases the grain is transported directly to Iran, in other cases it is loaded into smaller ships and loaded onto larger bulk carriers in the Kerch Strait between Crimea, Ukraine, and Russia via ship-to-ship transshipment. That shows how the effect of the sanctions can be reversed. While the Russians regularly bomb terminals in Izmail and Neri, from which Ukrainian grain is exported, Ukrainian grain is smuggled from Sevastopol. The 'Mikhail Nenashev' was detected while en route to the Russian port of Kavkaz. The AIS signal disappeared at an anchorage south of Crimea. A few days later, a satellite photo showed a completely identical ship loading at the Avlita terminal in Odesa. The vessel was then filmed as it transited the Bosphorus and was eventually photographed again when it lay with its hatches open in the port of Bandar Khomeni. In other cases, the AIS signal disappeared north of Cyprus and reappeared several weeks later, while the ship was sailing north in the Black Sea. On the whole 10 bulk carriers are regularly involved in these types of shipments. In addition to the 'Mikhail Nenashev', these included the 'Matros Shevchenko', 'Matros Koshka' and 'Matros Pozynich', currently sailing to Syria and Iran. Grain was also supplied to Turkey in the first year of the Putin war. And while the transports initially all went via Sevastopol, it has been shown that ships now also depart from the ports of Feodosia, Mariupol, Berdjansk and Kerch. Syrian ships have also been regularly spotted at grain terminals in Sevastopol.

Ukraine asks Turkey to investigate Russian bulk carriers regarding Russian grain theft

Ukraine has asked Turkey for help in investigating the three Russian-flagged vessels 'Mikhail Nenashev', 'Matros Pozynich' and 'Matros Koshka' as part of Kyiv's effort to investigate the theft of grain from Russian-occupied territory. In a letter dated June 13, 2022, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office asked the Turkish Ministry of Justice to investigate and provide evidence on the three named vessels it suspects. having been involved in transporting allegedly stolen grain to recently occupied Ukrainian territories, such as Kherson. The letter stated that the ships left Crimea's main grain terminal in Sevastopol in April and May and urged Ankara to obtain documents about their cargo and their arrival at Turkish ports. The ships are owned by a subsidiary of a Western-sanctioned Russian state-owned company called United Shipbuilding Corporation. If it is established that United Shipbuilding Corporation transported grain from recently occupied Ukrainian territory, this would add to the emerging evidence of the involvement of Russian state-owned entities in the export of what kyiv claims be stolen goods. Ukraine has publicly accused Moscow of stealing grain since the February invasion; Russia has repeatedly denied stealing Ukrainian grain.

Bulk carrier with stolen Ukrainian grain disappeared from AIS for seven days

The cargo m/v 'Matros Koshka', which has been blamed by the Ukraine for transporting grain stolen from Ukraine, popped up on AIS on June 9, 2022, after a 9-day period of the transmitter being switched off, which lasted from May 30. The ship’s AIS track and records confirmed the Ukrainian suspicions. Obviously, during the 9-day period of being off the radars, the ship called an unidentified port to offload cargo, most probably a Syrian port. Previous track and records confirmed another Ukrainian allegation, that the vessel, along with other bulk carriers, was involved in suspiciously looking voyages, including the 'Matros Poznych', which was covertly loaded with grain in Sevastopol, which had a gap in the Black sea sailing track and records, lasting from May 18 until May 24.