NIKA SPIRIT

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Seized Russian tanker to be auctioned by Ukraine

Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) responsible for seized assets during the Russian war has received the court authority to proceed with the sale of the ÄNika Spirit', the Ukraine has detained since 2019. The product tanker, which was involved in an incident pre-dating the February 2022 invasion, will be sold to provide funds for the Ukrainian defense efforts. It can be more effective in selling seized Russian assets instead of the prior plan to manage the assets for income. THe ARMA started preparations for an online auction to sell the tanker after receiving authorization from the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv. The agency had appealed to the court for authority and is in the process of seeking an independent appraiser to set the value of the tanker. The vessel, then sailing as 'Neyma' was involved in an incident in Nov 2018 where it claimed to have grounded near the Kerch Strait Bridge's main channel. The channel was blocked to coincide with the passage of three Ukrainian naval vessels from Odesa to the port of Mariupol. The vessels were attacked by Russian forces which boarded the ships and seized 24 Ukrainian crew members. The Russian authorities charged them as civilians for violating the Russian border. The tanker berthed in July 2019 in Izmir where the Ukrainian authorities moved to detain the ship for its involvement in the incident. The vessel was displaying the name 'Nika Spirit', but was still using the same IMO identification number as Neyma. Ukraine released the crew but continued to hold the vessel. The ARMA took custody of the tanker after the invasion and in 2023 reported it had selected a manager to operate the 'Nika Spirit' until 2026. The agency has instead decided to sell the ship to quickly raise badly needed funds for Ukraine. The agency also has control of the bulk carrier 'Emmakris III', which was in the port of Chornomorsk at the time of the invasion. ARMA presented documentation in court showing the vessel’s beneficial owners were a Russian company, Linter, registered in the city of Rostov-on-Don, although the ship is registered in Panama and listed as being managed by a company in the UAE.

Tanker was used to supply fuel to the occupied Crimea

The "Nika Spirit" was used to supply fuel to the occupied Crimea, an investigation established. The municipal court of Kherson on Aug 13 handed down a ruling upon considering a motion filed by prosecutors and the SBU security service on seizing the vessel which was believed to have supplied fuel to certain units of Russia's Black Sea fleet. The court has dismissed the motion. The Prosecutor's Office for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is preparing an appeal. Searches were conducted on the vessel in Kherson. The investigation claimed the vessel was used in "smuggling petroleum products" into the temporarily occupied territory Earlier, the SBU along with the Military Prosecutor's Office detained the Russian tanker "Neyma", which in Nov 2018 blocked Ukrainian naval vessels from passing the Kerch Strait before the Ukrainian boats were attacked and eventually seized by Russian forces. The investigation found the tanker which had sailed as "Mariya" and "Vilga" had been renamed into "Nika Spirit" to conceal the involvement of the vessel in said illegal actions, which led to the arrest by Russia of 24 Ukrainian sailors, who Ukraine stresses were being held as prisoners of war.

Court confirmed seizure

On July 30, an Odessa district court confirmed the seizure of the "Nika Spirit", as well as the documents that were confiscated when the vessel was registered. The court also approved the measures taken by military prosecutors and SBU investigators who registered the tanker in the port of Izmail, in the province of Odessa. Although it has been claimed that the investigation carried out by the Ukrainian security forces aboard the ship without the consent of the Russian consul was illegal, the Ukrainian prosecutor said those statements were inaccurate. Everything was done legally, emphasized the Ukrainian prosecutor, citing international treaties ratified by Russia and Ukraine. He noted that, in accordance with these agreements, Ukraine did not need the consent of diplomatic missions from other countries to register sea or river transport in Ukraine. The tanker was seized on July 24, when it entered the port of Izmail with a Russian flag. Investigators learned that the ship's owners had changed the name of "Neyma" to "Nika Spirit" after the Kerch Strait incident in November 2018, when the tanker was used to block the passage of Ukrainian military ships trying to enter the Azov Sea. Subsequently, Russia seized the three Ukrainian ships, describing Kiev's actions as a pre-election provocation. On November 25, 2018, Russian border guards seized three Ukrainian ships in the neutral waters of the Black Sea. The crews of the two artillery ships and a tug along with 24 people were taken to Simferopol, Crimea, where the Russian-controlled court detained all Ukrainians. The next day, the sailors were transferred to Moscow, where they remained until today. On May 25, the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled that Russia must free all Ukrainian sailors and return all three ships. Russia has said it will not comply with the demands of the court. On the same day, a Moscow court rejected the appeals of Ukrainian prisoners of war and ordered them to remain in detention until the end of July. The actual "Nika Spirit" crew has not violated any maritime or Ukrainian law. As a result, all crew members were released and allowed to return to Krasnodar.