Ships Seized in Mariupol

In the Ukrainian Port city of Mariupol, Russian-backed separatists have seized two foreign flagged ships.

That’s according to Dryad Global’s latest Maritime Security Threat Advisory (MSTA), which highlighted that these were the Panama flagged Blue Star I and the Liberia-flagged Smarta vessel. The Blue Star I is a general cargo ship built in 2005, while the Smarta is a bulk carrier built in 2007, according to Marinetraffic.com.

“The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic’s Foreign Ministry informed the shipping companies that their vessels were subject to ‘forcible appropriation of movable property with forced conversion into state property’ without compensation to owners,” Dryad’s latest MSTA noted.

“This is the first such incident against commercial shipping,” the MSTA added.

Looking elsewhere in Ukraine, the MSTA stated that, in the Odessa region on July 7, a Russian missile hit a Moldovan tanker carrying diesel that had been drifting in the Black Sea.

“This is the second time the Moldovan tanker has been hit, after first being hit with a missile on February 25,” the MSTA said.

In its previous MSTA, Dryad highlighted that, on July 3, Turkish authorities detained a Russian cargo ship which Ukraine claimed was carrying stolen grain.

“Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from seized Ukrainian territories. Russia has previously denied that Russia stole any Ukrainian grain,” the MSTA noted at the time.

“In further reporting, the Ukrainian military have stated that a landing craft of the Black Sea Fleet D-106 is reported to have exploded when it hit one of the Russian navy’s own mines near Mariupol. Such reports follow earlier reporting by Russia that the first civilian vessels have departed the Black Sea port,” MSTA added.

In its June 27 MSTA, Dryad stated that, within the northern Black Sea, “Ukraine continued to oppose Russian forces by striking Russian targets offshore Crimea believed to be supporting the Russian maritime blockade of Ukrainian waters”.

“Declassified U.S. defense reporting is alleged to show that Russian forces have been mining the waters south of Odessa as part of the planned blockade of Ukrainian waters,” the MSTA added.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com