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April 7, 2026, 2:34 p.m.
Odesa serves notice of suspicion to captain of Russian shadow fleet vessel
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PHOTO: SBU
The Security Service of Ukraine has served a notice of suspicion of violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine to the captain of a ship belonging to the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation, which was detained in Odesa in December 2025.
According to the SBU press service, the vessel was detained when the captain tried to take a batch of steel pipes flying the flag of an African country out of the port city.
During the investigation, the SBU found that at the end of 2024, the captain entered the seaport in the temporarily occupied Kerch on a sanctioned tanker. According to the case file, 2,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas were loaded onto the vessel, which was intended for export to third countries.
Prior to that, in January 2021, the bulk carrier illegally transported almost 7,000 tons of grain from Crimea to North Africa. In order to circumvent sanctions during the transportation of goods, the suspect constantly changed the flags under which he was flying the vessel and turned off the automatic identification system (AIS).
It was established that the captain of the shadow tanker is a citizen of a Middle Eastern country. At the time of the vessel's detention in Odesa, there were 16 other crew members on board, all citizens of the Middle East region. Searches on the vessel revealed voyage plans, pilotage cards, cartographic materials and radio communication logs with evidence of illegal entry into the ports of the temporarily occupied Crimea.
If proven guilty, the captain faces imprisonment for a term of three to five years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.
In December 2025, law enforcement officers detained a Russian vessel in the Odesa seaport. The ship was used to illegally export Ukrainian agricultural products through the temporarily occupied Crimea.
