The Ukrainian authorities have seized a freighter on the Danube River for allegedly having docked illegally in the Russian-occupied Crimean port of Sevastopol, prosecutors announced on Thursday.
The Usko MFU had dropped anchor in Sevastopol in November 2023 and in May 2024, loading up in the first instance with 3,000 tons of agricultural goods for a Turkish company. In May it unloaded cargo from Turkey, prosecutors said.
In both occasions it turned off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) to hide its route.
The Cameroon-flagged ship was travelling from Giurgiulești in Moldova and was detained in Reni in Ukraine's Odessa region.
The Azerbaijani captain now faces charges for the intentional illegal entry and exit in the occupied territories. He faces up to five years in prison. Ukrainian authorities closed all ports on the Crimean Peninsula following Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, making it illegal to dock in Sevastopol.
There were 12 other crew members aboard the vessel, which was detained a week ago, according to Lloyd's List.
The Ukrainian authorities detained another ship on similar grounds in Reni in 2016. According to Lloyd's List, that ship remains in the port.