{"id":271971,"date":"2024-11-30T15:11:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T13:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investigator.org.ua\/?p=271971"},"modified":"2025-01-13T11:07:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T09:07:16","slug":"novye-piratskie-suda-rossii-v-portu-mariupolya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigator.org.ua\/en\/investigations\/271971\/","title":{"rendered":"New Russian Pirate Ships in Mariupol"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In October and November 2024, the Center of Journalist Investigations (the CJI) detected several dry cargo ships <\/b>in the port of occupied Mariupol<\/b><\/a>. They have not been found out there earlier. They carried out grain, kaolin \\ white clay, coal and iron ore. We identified four ships \u2013 <\/b>earlier identified ships<\/b><\/a> as well as new Russian pirate ships in the Sea of Azov.\u00a0 <\/b>
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As the CJI earlier reported, there was some activity in the port of Mariupol at the beginning of summer 2024. In July-August 2024, no dry cargo ships entered the port. The dredging vessel sometimes worked in the shipping channel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dredging vessel in the water area of Mariupol. Summer 2024. Photo: t.me\/andriyshTime<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

There are several explanations behind this situation. The first is about struggle between various Russian authorities and oligarchs over financial flows from Russia to Mariupol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a period of \u201cgreat cleansing\u201d in Russia. There are a number of arrests of Russian high politicians, bureaucrats and business people, affiliated with them. It is about Russian Ministry of Defence and its subcontractors. It seems to me that \u201cgroup of Marat Khusnullin\u201d \u201cwent underground\u201d. For example, Russian company \u201cRoskapstroy\u201d has been very active in establishing control over finances allocated for construction in Mariupol. But its female director disappeared in the public space. There are no Russian reports about her visits to the city anymore\u201d, as explained to the CJI Petro Andruschenko, an advisor of the Mayor of Mariupol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ex-director of \u201cRoskapstroy\u201d Yulia Maksimova, who lost her position and disappeared in the public space Photo: social media. Collage: investigator.org.ua<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

Stealing Ukrainian grain\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The navigation resumed in occupied ports of the Sea of Azov by the end of harvesting season. On September 28, 2024, Russian bulker <\/span>entered<\/span><\/a> Mariupol port to pick up stolen Ukrainian grain. It has been identified with high probability as ship PETROTRANS 5905 (IMO: 9910090). It has been owned by Russian JSC \u201cPetrotrans\u201d. This company and LLC with the same name share common legal address in Sankt Petersburg. These legal entities have been included <\/span>into Ukrainian sanction list<\/span><\/a> in 2022 and 2024, respectively. Their founders are Russian citizens Yurii Bondarenko, Viktor Balyasnikov, Timur Urusov and Elena Mikhailova.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Data of ship \u201cPETROTRANS 5905\u201d at website www.imo.org. Collage: investigator.org.ua<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cRussian occupants earlier brought grain from occupied part of Donetsk region from Mariupol port. It was unclear where did they get it last year\u201d, as said Petro Andruschenko.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

112 thousand tons of wheat, <\/span>stolen<\/span><\/a> from Ukranian private farmers in Donbas, have been brought from Mariupol port from January to October 2024, in accordance with statistical data of the regional office of Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (\u201cRosselkhoznadzor\u201d).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So-called \u201cDonetsk People\u2019s Republic\u201d (i.e. Russia) exported 85 thousand tons of grain to Turkey and Syria.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 10, 2024, ship \u00abALFA M\u00bb (IMO: 9419084) brought around 7 thousand tons of grain from Mariupol. It has been also identified\u00a0 in ports of Crimea and Berdyansk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cALFA M\u201d\u00a0was registered by company \u201cASTON SHIPTRADE CORP\u201d in Marshall Islands. It has been under commercial management of company \u201cDEEPBLUE MARINE BROKERAGE\u201d from United Arab Emirates. Safety supervision has been provided by Russian KRECHET LLC with legal address in the Russian city of Rostov-na-Dony. Russian company has been headed by Pereguda Viktor Viktorovich and founded by Sopova Tatyana Viktorovna.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u201cALFA M\u201d in the water area of Mariupol \u2013 photos and pictures of satellite Sentinel-2, 10.11.2024. Collage: investigator.org.ua<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

Stealing Ukrainian coal\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe profile of cargo, brought by Russian occupants from the port of Mariupol, has changed. There is almost no grain. Main commodities are coal, a little bit of kaolin and little bit of metal scrap. There will be more coal, when navigation will be fully launched\u201d, as said Petro Andruschenko.<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 11, 2024, two ships were <\/span>detected<\/span><\/a> at piers of Mariupol. It was very likely that they came for coal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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LADY AUGUSTA (IMO: 9163568) and VICTORIA V (IMO: 9454125) in the port of occupied Mariupol. 11.11.2024. Photo: t.me\/andriyshTime.\u00a0Collage: investigator.org.ua<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

The first ship is dry cargo carrier \u201cLADY AUGUSTA\u201d (IMO: 9163568). Before February 2022, it has been registered under flag of Jamaica and owned by Lebanese company called \u201cAdriamediteran Ltd\u201d. Citizens of Syria staffed the crew of ship. When Mariupol was occupied by Russia, the ship stayed in Mariupol port. Later it has been \u201c<\/span>nationalized<\/span><\/a>\u201d by occupation authorities of so-called \u201cDonetsk People\u2019s Republic\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLady Augusta\u201d has been also <\/span>detected<\/span><\/a> on October 19, 2024 in the water area of Mariupol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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LADY AUGUSTA (IMO: 9163568) in occupied Mariupol, 2023<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt seems that they bring a coal to the Russian port of Novorossiisk and then somewhere to Russia. Why coal? Winter came, and coal is needed for heating. The coal is brought not from Donetsk, but from Luhansk. As far as I understand, it is not a coal for iron industry. It is a coal for heating. Though, frankly speaking, we do not have any documents supporting these observations. Russians guard very carefully everything related to occupied ports\u201d, as said Petro Andruschenko.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second ship is \u201cVICTORIA V\u201d (IMO: 9454125). It seems it illegally entered closed Ukrainian port for the first time. In accordance with data of marinetraffic.com, \u201cVictoria V\u201d used the scheme the CJI already reported:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n