SBU Detains Vessel Exporting Looted Ukrainian Grain From Crimea

The bulk carrier was detained during a special operation by the SBU and the State Border Service in Ukrainian territorial waters in the Black Sea.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained and confiscated a foreign vessel that helped Russians steal Ukrainian agricultural products from the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine.

The SBU announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.

The bulk carrier was detained during a special operation conducted by the SBU and the State Border Guard Service in the territorial waters of Ukraine in the Black Sea.

According to the SBU, an investigation established that the bulk carrier was part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to transport stolen Ukrainian grain to third countries for sale.

According to the case materials, in late 2024, the bulk carrier left the port of Sevastopol with 5,000 tons of wheat illegally taken from the temporarily occupied territory in southern Ukraine.

“To conceal the crimes of the occupiers, the vessel conducted an illegal voyage under the flag of an Asian country,” the SBU said.

During a search of the vessel, officials discovered documents, navigation equipment, and other material evidence confirming the large-scale plundering of Ukrainian agricultural products by Russian forces.

“Following the arrest of the bulk carrier and the detention of its crew, investigative actions are underway to establish all the circumstances of the Kremlin’s crimes and bring those responsible to justice,” the SBU said.

SBU personnel in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Odesa region conducted the operation jointly with the maritime security units of the State Border Guard Service and the Ukrainian Navy under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol.