Satellite data confirm that Russia is exporting stolen Ukrainian grain to Turkey

Schemes project on Radio Svoboda reported the story.

Details: Russian forces turn off radars on ships transporting Ukrainian grain from Crimea to Turkish ports, but this systematic process is regularly caught on satellite images, the investigation says.

Journalists also publish accompanying documents for grain, which Turkey imports in large batches; the origin of the goods is indicated in them as Crimea, Russia. Grain is loaded in the Avlita port (Sevastopol), where it is brought from the temporarily occupied territories, in particular, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions.

Using the example of two vessels – Russian and Syrian – the journalists showed how bulk carriers regularly entered the sanctioned port of Sevastopol, where they were loaded with grain through the Avlita terminal, and then arrived in Turkey and were unloaded there. When entering a Crimean port, bulk carriers turn off their radars, so they cannot be tracked through vessel monitoring systems such as Marine Traffic or Equasis. But they do not manage to 'hide' from the satellite, which records the stay and loading of ships in the Crimean Avlita from space.

One of these vessels is Mykhailo Nenashev under the Russian flag. Journalists provide evidence of his three flights from a port in Crimea to ports in Turkey. On April 15, the Planet Labs satellite recorded this bulker near Avlita. Because the radars were turned off for three days, the vessel remained 'invisible' to the official Marine Traffic vessel monitoring system. At the same time, this service recorded that before entering the Crimean port it was empty. And after, already downloaded. On April 22, Mykhailo Nenashev entered the Turkish port of Derince. In four days, the system recorded that the bulk carrier was unloaded.

Nenashev made another trip to Turkey in May. On May 25, the Planet Labs satellite showed it near Avlita. On May 26, the bulker went out to sea and turned on the radars, becoming 'visible' for Marine Traffic monitoring. The same service recorded the cargo on board. On May 30, Nenashev reached the Turkish port of Iskenderun.

Within a week, the bulk carrier repeated its journey, leaving Turkey empty. Entered the waters of the Black Sea and allegedly headed for the Kavkaz anchorage in the Kerch Strait, turning off the radars. But on June 14, the satellite recorded it near Avlita. Its holds were empty that day, and loaded with grain the next.

On June 18, the bulk carrier Nenashev appeared on the radar in the Kerch Strait area and headed for Turkey. On June 25, it docked at the moorings of the private port of MMK Metalurji near Iskenderun, where it was recorded by journalist Osman Pashaev.

The second bulker tracked by Schemes is the Syrian vessel Finikia. On April 20, it appeared on satellite images in Avlita.

The ship appeared on radars only on April 21, having already left the sea loaded. On April 29, it docked in Nemrut, Turkey, and shipped grain.

On May 6, Finikia already left empty on a new voyage, from Nemrutau to the Black Sea. The procedure was repeated, according to the investigation: on May 10, the vessel turned off its radars, but on May 13, it was detected by a satellite in Avlita. The bulker was loaded with grain and arrived in Iskenderun on May 24.

In addition to pictures from space, Schemes has documents that show that Nenashev and Finikia were loaded with grain on the way to Turkey at the Crimean terminal Avlita.

At the same time, in the documents, the origin of the grain is indicated as Crimea, Russia. "Turkey recognized the annexation of Crimea as illegal, since when did Crimea, Russia become a legitimate origin of products?," the authors of the investigation ask.

In a comment to Schemes, the ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, noted: "We are working with the Turkish side. But we are told that the Russian documents provided for the import of grain into the port are legal and they perceive them as necessary for unloading the ship in a legal way".

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine reported that the grain grown in Crimea is sufficient only for domestic consumption, because Ukraine did not supply the peninsula with water for irrigation. The so-called head of Crimea Serhii Aksyonov, appointed by Russia, directly admitted that Avlita exports grain precisely from the newly occupied territories.

Turkish authorities said they were investigating claims that Ukrainian grain had been illegally exported by Russia, including to its ports, but said they had not yet identified any such shipments.

"Turkey will not allow illegal trade in Ukrainian grain or any other products by any country, in particular Russia. We will not accept such goods either. In fact, monitoring is very simple. And you can do it too. To do this, just download it to your gadget, an application costing 5-6 dollars. 

It allows you to track shipping, get information about which ports cargo ships leave from and about their cargo. Anyone can get access to such information," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on June 23.