Turkey clears vessel carrying 17,000 tons of grain from occupied Sevastopol — Yaresko

Turkish authorities have allowed the vessel GRUMANT (IMO: 9385879), carrying more than 17,000 tons of wheat exported from occupied Sevastopol, to enter the port of Iskenderun, according to Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist with the SeaKrime investigative project of the Myrotvorets Center.

According to her, the vessel was accepted for unloading at a berth operated by Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works in the port of Iskenderun. The cargo consists of 17,154 tons of wheat loaded between June 4 and June 11 at Berth No. 21 of the Avlita grain terminal in occupied Sevastopol.

Yaresko stated that the Russian company Pallada is the exporter of the cargo, which she says has been systematically involved in exporting grain from occupied Ukrainian territories.

She noted that during its previous voyage, GRUMANT was unable to unload its cargo in Turkey and was forced to proceed to Libya. This time, however, Turkish authorities granted permission for the vessel to enter the port and complete all required procedures.

“Although the berth belongs to a Russian company, it is the authorities that clear a vessel’s entry, conduct phytosanitary inspections, and collect customs duties. And Turkey was fully aware that this grain had been stolen from Ukrainian territories,” Yaresko emphasised.

She also called on the Ukrainian authorities to respond to the incident, describing Turkey’s decision to accept the vessel carrying allegedly stolen grain as “a disgraceful case.”

• On April 12, 2026, Israel allowed the Russian bulk carrier ABINSK (IMO: 9303869) to unload more than 43,700 tons of wheat that had allegedly been illegally exported from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Israel did not detain the vessel despite requests from Ukraine.

• On April 26, it became known that the vessel PANORMITIS (IMO: 9445021), carrying a grain cargo that may have originated from occupied Ukrainian territories, was approaching the Israeli port of Haifa. The cargo included more than 6,200 tons of wheat and 19,000 tons of barley.
• On April 30, importer Zenziper announced that it was postponing the unloading of the wheat cargo aboard PANORMITIS and stated that the supplier would have to find another destination for the shipment. Following the announcement, the Russian vessel left the Israeli coast.

Ukraine subsequently called for laboratory testing of the grain delivered to Israel aboard ABINSK, which may have been exported by Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories.