Ukraine has detained the cargo ship Usko Mfu during its voyage on the Danube River. It is alleged that the freighter illegally crossed Ukraine’s state border and was transporting cargo to and from the Russian-occupied Sevastopol.
The cargo ship Usko Mfu, flying the Cameroonian flag with a displacement of 4,127 tons, was en route from the Moldovan international port of Giurgiulesti when a vessel approached and forced it to anchor at the Reni seaport in the Odessa region. This information comes from the ship’s agent, the Romanian company Avalon Shipping. They claim that the Usko Mfu was intercepted by a military boat while in Romanian waters.
Data analysis conducted by Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows that the Usko Mfu navigated between Ukrainian and Romanian waters while heading downstream. The vessel, loaded with barley and destined for the Greek island of Souda, was searched and subsequently prohibited from departing, according to Avalon Shipping.
Data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows that the Usko Mfu departed from Giurgiulesti on July 3 at 13:48 local time. The vessel anchored nearby, and the next day a pilot was supposed to guide it downstream. On July 4, the ship sailed south but stopped at 11:20 local time. Satellite images confirmed that the Usko Mfu was anchored in the Danube at the Reni seaport.
A court document issued by Ukraine, reviewed by Lloyd’s List, states that the arrest of the Usko Mfu was carried out at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. This is currently a preliminary version, with the final court decision expected in the coming days. “The main charges relate to the ship’s last voyage to Sevastopol, where it unloaded cargo from Turkey, but it is also accused of illegally crossing Ukraine’s state border,” said Bosphorus Observer geopolitical consultant Yoruk Isik.
From May 19 to 21, the Usko Mfu was being loaded at the port of Ereğli. Vessel tracking data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows a gap in the Usko Mfu’s automatic identification system data from May 22 to June 5 after it departed from Ereğli. During this period, the freighter operated “in autonomous mode,” but satellite images show the ship unloading in a bay in Sevastopol during this time.
“The Crimean Prosecutor’s Office has been pursuing this ship for a long time,” explains Isik. It transported grain from Sevastopol to Turkey as recently as November 2023. The court document and the IMO GISIS database list Med Voyager Shipping Inc as the owner, but according to Lloyd’s List, the ship was acquired by Usko Shipping before the full-scale war began.
Representatives of Usko Shipping claim that the ship only visited Crimea when it was owned by Med Voyager and deny any voyages there while under the ownership of Usko Shipping. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of using ports like Sevastopol to export grain from occupied territories and recently issued arrest warrants for 24 ships they claim are involved in these operations.
Read also:
- Corvette “Hetman Ivan Mazepa” of the Ukrainian Navy Successfully Completed Sea Trials
- Ukraine Develops a “Swarm of Drones” Capable of Attacking Without Human Intervention