Vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian grain has left Israeli port for neutral waters

Israeli grain import company Zenziper has announced that it will refuse to accept a shipment of grain that may originate from the occupied territories of Ukraine. The vessel Panormitis carrying the cargo has left the port of Haifa for neutral waters.

Source: Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine; The Marker; Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniichuk in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine

Quote from Korniichuk: "We have won. The bulk carrier is heading into neutral waters from the port. We will complete the criminal case and sanctions process."

Details: The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that after measures taken by Ukraine, the vessel Panormitis left Israel's territorial waters and moved into neutral waters. "Such behaviour may indicate awareness of the risk of procedural measures being applied to the vessel and cargo, including seizure," the Office said.

The Office of the Prosecutor General noted that the offence has been documented at the international level.

Therefore, the further movement of the vessel, the cargo and the actions of those involved will remain subject to legal response in any jurisdiction that upholds the rule of law and respects Ukraine's sovereignty.

"The vessel's departure into neutral waters does not terminate the criminal case and does not release those involved from liability," the Office of the Prosecutor General stressed.

Zenziper informed SGM, the supplier of the wheat cargo suspected of being looted from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian east, that it would refuse to accept the shipment from the Russian vessel.

Zenziper said the "Russian supplier of the wheat cargo will be forced to find another destination for unloading".

This is reportedly the first case in which a shipment of grain suspected of being stolen has been rejected and not unloaded in Israel.

The vessel Panormitis is currently anchored off the coast of Haifa, carrying around 20,000 tonnes of barley and another 6,000 tonnes of wheat.

The value of the cargo is estimated at about US$7 million.

Zenziper CEO Itai Ron said these were "the first vessels since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine that are believed to be carrying non-kosher goods". The company had approached Israel's Foreign Ministry for guidance on unloading the vessel before ultimately deciding on Thursday 30 April to refuse the shipment.

Zenziper is one of the oldest and largest grain importers in Israel. The company was founded 100 years ago and specialises in grain, importing it from Europe, the United States and South America.

The vessel Panormitis previously called at the port of Haifa in late March, when it delivered grain loaded at the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

From Haifa, the ship sailed to the Black Sea, where it switched off its transmitters in an area in the northern Black Sea known as the Caucasus Dock – a zone where grain vessels are loaded from floating silos and feeder ships. A week later, its transmitters were switched back on, and the vessel reported that it was loaded and heading to Haifa, where it arrived about three days ago.

The Ukrainian side believes the vessel was loaded from a feeder ship named Leonid Pestrikov, which had previously docked in occupied Berdiansk.

This claim cannot be verified using satellite imagery due to heavy cloud cover during the suspected loading period, on 18-19 April.

According to the Russian supplier SGM, Panormitis was loaded with grain directly at the Russian port of Temryuk.

Background:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised Israel for accepting vessels carrying Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia and pledged to impose sanctions on all those involved.
• Ukraine has formally approached Israel through diplomatic and legal channels, requesting action regarding the vessel Panormitis.
• On 28 April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine handed a note of protest to Ambassador Michael Brodsky over the continued import into Israel of agricultural products illegally taken by Russia from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
• Separately, the Foreign Ministry responded to remarks by an Israeli minister who claimed that Ukrainian diplomats communicate via social media rather than through diplomatic channels, presenting a step-by-step chronology of actions taken by the Ukrainian side.

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