The buyer of the Nika Spirit vessel arrested in the port of Izmail decided to sell it for twice as much

Alfa Group 77 has decided to sell the Nika Spirit vessel arrested in the port of Izmail and purchased at an auction last year - the new starting price of the lot exceeds UAH 12 million.

The announcement was made on the electronic platform Prozorro.Sale.

The auction will be held in a three-round English bidding format and is scheduled for March 5.

Background of the sale

The vessel was previously managed by the National Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and was sold in the spring of 2025 at an open electronic auction. On May 9, 2025, the successful bidder, Alfa Group 77 LLC, transferred the full amount of UAH 6,425,000 for the asset to the ARMA account. On June 10, the seizure of the acquired asset was lifted by a ruling of the Dniprovskyi District Court of Kyiv. On July 30, a representative of the winning company succeeded in getting the seizure lifted in court on the basis of the vessel's documents seized during the search.

"These documents contain important technical parameters and information necessary for any use of the vessel. Even if it was purchased as scrap metal (its physical wear and tear is 66.8% and functional wear and tear is 80%). In particular, in order to move the vessel to the place of utilization or use it as a storage tank, it is necessary to obtain permits to cross the Sulinsky Canal and along the coastline, as well as to determine the pilotage and the required capacity of tugs," the court materials explain.

According to the report of an independent appraiser, the estimated cost of restoration requires at least UAH 20 million in investments. The asset was preliminarily valued at UAH 2.4 million. Four companies took part in the auction.

About the vessel

The Nika Spirit is an oil product tanker built in 1989. It belongs to the sea-river class and is designed to transport Class I and III oil products in river conditions. Previously, the tanker was flying the Russian flag under the name Neyma and was owned by a company from the Krasnodar Territory. In July 2019, it was arrested after entering Izmail for repairs.

It was the same vessel that was used in November 2018 to block the Kerch Strait during the seizure of Ukrainian sailors and Ukrainian Navy ships by the Russian military. After the tanker was purchased at auction by Alfa Group 77, a company based in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, and owned by Vitaliy Marchenko, the asset was put up for sale again. But this time the amount is twice as high as last year. It is likely that the company decided to sell Nika Spirit after lengthy litigation to lift the arrest not only of the vessel but also of its documentation. Logistical issues related to the transportation of the asset probably also had an impact.

Антоніна Лубченко