From Bellingcat:
"Ukraine ‘Outraged’ at Yemen Grain Shipment From Occupied Crimea
December 18, 2024
This article is the result of a joint investigation by Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List. The Lloyd’s List version of this piece can be found here.
Ukraine has said it is “outraged” after a Russian-flagged vessel surreptitiously exported grain from a port under western sanctions in occupied Crimea to Houthi-controlled Yemen for the second time in a matter of months.
What Ukraine describes as “grain theft” via occupied ports and territories has become a common occurrence since the onset of Russia’s full invasion, with dozens of ships ferrying grain from occupied ports to the likes of Syria, Iran and other destinations.
Ukraine has long advocated for ports to reject such shipments should they be aware of their origin and says it has raised the issue with the International Maritime Organisation.
In this instance, the ship, Zafar (IMO: 9720263), loaded grain at the Port of Sevastopol in early October and arrived at Saleef (also known as As-Salif) in Yemen in mid-November. It docked in Djibouti in the days before travelling to Saleef.
All ships bringing goods into Houthi-controlled ports are mandated to stop in Djibouti for inspection by the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) for Yemen.
UNVIM did not respond to requests for comment about whether Zafar had been inspected while in Djibouti. Nor did the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), which is the UN secretariat focal point for UNVIM.
However, satellite imagery and ship tracking data showed Zafar stationed at a dock in Djibouti in early November after waiting in anchorage for several days...
It is also possible that Zafar would not have been open to UNVIM about where it had sailed from. The fact that it masked its presence in Sevastopol by switching off its Automated Identification System (AIS), and was only known to have been there because it was spotted in satellite imagery, suggests it may have not. It would have had to present a bill of lading and clearance from a load port, although it is not possible to know what was stated on those forms without access to the ship’s documentation. The ultimate owner of Zafar is not known but the manager of the ship did not respond to requests for comment.
Such a scenario would still raise questions for the UN and UNVIM.
Zafar made an identical trip earlier this year, something that was reported by Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List at the time. Experts told Lloyd’s List and Bellingcat back then that grain shipments from occupied Sevastopol being approved by UNVIM, even if full details were not clear and outside its mandate, created an awkward situation for the UN given a majority of member nations have repeatedly voted against Russia’s invasion of its neighbour...
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that it was “outraged” that Zafar had sailed to Yemen from Crimea, although it did not comment on the role of UNVIM. The spokesperson added that Ukraine “continues to make every effort to expose Russia’s systematic and widespread theft of Ukrainian grain, as well as its illegal transfer through Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories and unlawful activities in our closed sea ports.”
Neither the Russian government nor its foreign ministry responded to requests for comment.
As with earlier shipments, it was also not clear exactly where the grain carried by Zafar to Yemen was harvested. However, some farmers in occupied eastern Ukraine have previously accused Russian forces of stealing grain that was subsequently exported...
The November grain shipment carried by Zafar arrived in the days before
international media reported mercenaries from Yemen were fighting on the
frontline in Russia’s war in Ukraine..."
No comments:
Post a Comment