Bangladeshi Ship Hit in Attack Near Mykolaiv, Killing One Engineer
Fears continue to rise for the ships caught in the fighting in Ukraine with additional reports of vessels coming under attack or being stopped in the region. On Thursday morning, reports from Bangladesh indicate that a third engineer was killed by an artillery or missile attack near Mykolaiv.
The bulker Banglar Samriddhi, a four-year-old bulker registered in Bangladesh was reported stranded at the anchorage off the Port of Olvia, located in the Mykolaiv region on the northern Black Sea coast. The 38,800 dwt vessel said that it had a crew of 29 with supplies to last no more than two weeks. After the beginning of the war, the crew reported that they were stranded when Ukraine closed its seaports. They called on the Bangladesh government to take the steps necessary to rescue them, and the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation said that its chartering department was working to move the vessel to a safe location.
The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority is reporting that the vessel was struck earlier today by one Russian missile hitting the superstructure of the vessel. The Ukrainian authorities reported that two tugs were sent to assist the vessel and that they believed there were no injuries among the crew.
However, two Bangladeshi newspapers, The Business Standard and the Financial Express, report that the third engineer of the vessel was killed during the attack. The reports said that the crew was able to control the fire after the vessel was hit and that the other crew members were uninjured.
International organizations have been attempting to aid the crews of the vessels while Ukraine and members of the European Union are calling on the International Maritime Organization to take action to aid the vessels caught in Ukrainian ports. The IMO has not yet responded to the calls, but at the beginning of the Russian attack, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim issued a statement that in part read, “The security situation in Ukraine is impacting trade by sea. The safety of marine personnel including seafarers is vital. I urge all parties to take steps to ensure the protection of seafarers, vessels, and cargo. IMO will continue to evaluate the developing security situation.”
Security analysts Dryad Global is reporting that three other vessels had previously come under attack by Russian missiles or bombs in the past week. One of the incidents reportedly set a small product tanker on fire but there were no confirmed deaths in the previous attacks. One of the vessels that was struck by a missile, the Japanese-owned bulk carrier Namura Queen left the Odessa area after the attack last Friday and has arrived safely in eastern Turkey for repairs. The vessel had been loading corn near Odessa when the war began. Dryad also reports that three other commercial vessels were detained by the Russians.
Germany Seizes First Russian-Owned Megayacht
German authorities have reportedly seized a megayacht belonging to the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, one of 26 associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin who were sanctioned by the European Union on Monday.
According to Forbes, the $600 million megayacht Dilbar was seized at the yard of a prominent shipbuilder in Hamburg, where the vessel has been undergoing repairs. The report indicates that refit work on the yacht has been halted as a result of the asset seizure.
Dilbar is the largest personal yacht in the world by volume, measuring in at nearly 16,000 GT. At 512 feet, she is also the sixth longest vessel of her type. She can accommodate up to 24 guests in her spacious 40,000 square foot interior. According to her builder, she also has an 25-meter-long, 180-cubic-meter pool, the largest ever installed on a yacht.
Her owner, Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov, owns Russian metals conglomerate Metalloinvest, media company Kommersant and mobile-phone provider Megafon. Through Metalloinvest, he is one of the largest shareholders in Deep Sea Minerals Finance, the successor company of bankrupt deep sea mining firm Nautilus Minerals.
Usmanov is also among the list of possible owners of the superyacht Lady Gulya (ex names Alaiya, Tis). The Gulya’s true owner is not known for certain, and she may be linked to Usmanov’s business partner Andrei Skoch, who is also named on Western sanctions lists.
More seizures planned
Putin’s personal yacht, Graceful, repositioned from Hamburg to the Russian port of Kaliningrad in early February, putting her safely beyond the reach of Western sanctions. Others are under way in international waters, and some have fled to more comfortable jurisdictions. However, other yachts connected to Putin’s inner circle are within reach, and they are squarely in the sights of EU and U.S. regulators.
On Tuesday night, President Joe Biden used his annual State of the Union address to highlight efforts to impose consequences for the invasion of Ukraine, including a new task force targeting the assets of oligarchs.
“The United States Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of the Russian oligarchs,” President Biden said. “We are joining with European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. We’re coming for your ill-begotten gains.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the launch of “Task Force KleptoCapture,” a law enforcement task force to implement U.S. and allied sanctions on Russia – including “government-aligned elites.”
“The Justice Department will use all of its authorities to seize the assets of individuals and entities who violate these sanctions,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue this unjust war. Let me be clear: if you violate our laws, we will hold you accountable.”
The civil forfeiture process means that assets within U.S. jurisdiction can be seized and held, even if the defendants cannot be immediately detained. In addition to asset forfeitures like yacht and jet seizures, the task force will pursue financial sanctions violations of all stripes – including illegal use of cryptocurrency to evade the allied response.
Though none of the sanctioned vessels are within U.S. waters, foreign maritime law enforcement agencies have cooperated with U.S. officials to seize overseas vessel assets in the past, including yachts.
WTO Concerned About Consequences Of Conflict In Ukraine – Chief
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is concerned about the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine, especially in the area of food trade, as well as rising energy prices.
WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said this on Thursday.
She called what is happening in Ukraine a tragedy and said that the organisation was watching the events with the hope that the conflict would be resolved peacefully.
“However, this is now the seventh day and we are deeply saddened by the continued suffering and loss of lives.
“We pray that there will be a peaceful and quick resolution.
“We are also concerned about the trade implications of the conflict, especially trade in agriculture and food products, and the rise in energy prices and their effects on the impacted populations,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
Shipping Delays May Spoil Food, Medical Shipments To Russia, Maersk Says
Shipments of food and medical supplies to Russia risk being damaged or spoiled due to significant delays at ports and customs, shipping group Maersk told its customers on Wednesday.
Maersk and two other large container lines have temporarily suspended cargo shipments to and from Russia in response to Western sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
The suspension did not include food, medical and humanitarian supplies.
“We do, however, warn caution on still placing bookings for perishable cargo due to significant delays in key transshipment hubs that may damage the cargo,” Maersk said in a customer advisory on its website.
It said customs authorities in the European Union and UK are inspecting all containers to and from Russia transiting their terminals and ports to identify sanctioned and restricted shipments.
As a consequence, Maersk said it could not provide any guarantees and saw a “significant risk to our customers’ perishable cargo”.
For the past year the world has been struggling with supply chain bottlenecks caused by surging demand for retail goods transported on container ships amid lockdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The indirect impacts of sanctions was now putting further pressure on global freight, Maersk added.
“This is a global impact, and not only limited to trade with Russia.”
West Of England Withdraws Insurance Cover On Two Russian Ships
British ship insurer West of England P&I has withdrawn cover for two container ships operated by Russia’s FESCO Transportation Group.
The move comes after the cargo vessels were listed by the US Treasury as part of sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These are the first Russian-owned vessels to have their insurance cover effected by the US sanctions.
Two Russian vessels in FESCO’s fleet, the Fesco Magadan and Fesco Moneron, were designated by the US Treasury due to the vessels’ ownership links with Russian financial institution PSB, which is on the US sanctions list.
“We can confirm that we held the entry (insurance) for these two ships. Due to their recent designation by the US authorities, however, the cover has been terminated in accordance with our rules,” West of England said in a statement to Reuters.
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FESCO said in a statement on its website on Monday that it continued “to provide logistics services on all existing routes in full”. It also confirmed that although transactions in euros and US dollars are impacted by the international sanctions, the firm is also accepting transactions in Chinese yuan.
“All settlements and payments in Russian rubles are effected as per normal. Regarding transactions in euros and US dollars in banks that currently are under international sanctions: the group offers its customers various alternative options of payment, including via other banks. Customers can also pay in Chinese yuan,” a company statement read.
The US is currently considering restricting Russian-flagged ships from entering its ports as punitive action for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This move comes after the UK passed a law to prohibit all ships with connections to Russia from entering its ports, granting new powers to authorities for detaining Russian vessels.
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