The Chinese container ship Heng Yang 9, flying the Panamanian flag, has repeatedly called at the port of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, which has been under Western sanctions since 2014. The Financial Times reports this with reference to Ukrainian officials.
According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the ship, owned by Guangxi Changhai Shipping Company, has visited the Crimean port at least three times in recent months. In particular, it was in Sevastopol from June 19 to 22 and tried to load more than a hundred containers on August 15. After these visits, the ship called at Turkish ports and Alexandria (Egypt).
Ukrainian authorities believe that Russia is using a new railroad line opened in April to transport goods from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Kherson to Crimean ports for further export.
Presidential Spokesperson for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk said that Kyiv had expressed a strong protest and warned of the risk of adding vessels entering the occupied ports to sanctions lists. The Ukrainian Embassy in China also raised this issue with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
At the same time, according to the FT, the ship could have been hiding its real routes. During a two-week voyage in September, the Heng Yang 9 broadcast false coordinates to conceal its presence in the Black Sea. Analysis of satellite imagery by the European Space Agency and Lloyd’s List confirmed the discrepancies between the transponder signals and the ship’s actual location.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not comment, but previously stated that it advises its citizens and companies to avoid contact with the occupied territories of Ukraine.