A general cargo ship carrying 7,000 tonnes grain from a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine was detained by Turkish customs authorities over the weekend, at the behest of Kiev, according to Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey.
MarineTraffic data today shows the ship, called Zhibek Zholy, at anchor at the port of Karasu on the Turkish Black Sea coast, having departed from the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov. Official confirmation of the arrest has yet to materialise.
Reports of Russia attempting to sell Ukrainian grain have been widespread in recent weeks with much of the illicit cargoes finding their way to Syria.
