Kherson Court Arrests Passenger Ship Khrustalnyi Seized by

In Kherson, a court granted a request by the police and prosecutors to arrest the Khrustalny passenger ship, which was illegally seized by the Russian military in October 2022.

Intent learned about this from the decision of the Kherson City Court.

The case file notes that the vessel belongs to MD Shipping Ltd. and is an important material evidence in criminal proceedings under the article on violation of the laws and customs of war. In particular, it concerns looting in the occupied territory.

The investigation established that the Khrustalny vessel (built in 1968, 21 meters long) was seized in Kherson near the pier at 1a Prychalna Street. Its whereabouts are currently unknown, so the vehicle was put on the wanted list.

The arrest was made to preserve the material evidence and prevent its damage, sale or disappearance. The court banned any transactions with the vessel, including its sale, transfer or re-registration.

Meanwhile, the captain of the foreign vessel is suspected of illegally exporting more than 6,000 tons of Ukrainian sunflower seeds through a closed port in Crimea. He deliberately concealed the route by turning off navigation systems and entering fictitious data. According to the investigation, in December 2023, the captain of the SAN COSMAS vessel, which flies the flag of the Kingdom of Eswatini, entered the closed Feodosia Commercial Sea Port in violation of Ukrainian legislation and international maritime law. There, the vessel was loaded with more than six thousand tons of sunflower seeds.

Law enforcement officers also served a notice of suspicion to the captain of the Russian vessel ZAID, which was transporting Ukrainian grain. Subsequently, the vessel was heading to a Syrian seaport under his command. This is the seventeenth Russian captain to be notified of such suspicion.

Ірина Глухова