Monte-Bianco

Three Syrian cargo vessels, the 'Bayeze D' ex 'Finikia', the 'Monte Rosa' ex 'Laodicea' (IMO 9274343) and the 'San Damian' ex 'Souria' (IMO: 9274331), have been accused of trafficking in grain stolen from Russian-occupied Ukraine. Newly uncovered documents link the Seychelles company behind them to an apparent front for the regime of deposed dictator Bashar Al-Assad. For more than a decade, the vessels had operated under the ownership of Syria’s General Authority for Maritime Transport, a division of the transport ministry under Assad’s government. In August 2015, the freighters were hit with U.S. sanctions that targeted resources used by the regime to wage violence against civilians in Syria’s civil war. The Syrian General Authority for Maritime Transport sold two of the ships, the 'Finikia' and the 'Souria', to the Seychelles-based AlHouda Holding, which was incorporated in January 2019, in April 2023 for the nominal price of just $1 apiece. AlHouda acquired the third ship, the 'Laodicea', around the same time. Since then, the vessels have been sanctioned by the European Union. While the owner of the Seychelles firm behind the ships was unknown, the company’s director has also held a large stake in a firm the EU calls a front for the Assad family. The ships have also been managed by companies with ties to Taher Kayali, a Syrian businessman sanctioned over alleged maritime trafficking of the drug Captagon. Alongside two sister ships, the bulk carrier had just been sanctioned by the European Union for belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. In June, the ships were among hundreds of Syrian entities and individuals that the U.S. Treasury Department cleared from its sanctions list, granting relief to the country’s new government after Assad’s ouster. Since their 2023 sale, the ships have navigated trade routes under a cloud of obfuscation, using multiple names, misrepresenting their country of registration with false flags, and repeatedly switching off the AIS. Ukrainian authorities alleged that all three of the ships belong to a fleet that has helped Russia expropriate some 15 million tons of Ukrainian grain since the 2022 invasion.

The European Union has adopted its newest sanctions package on Dec 16, 2024, at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, adding 52 new vessels, among them the 'San Severus', to the sanctions list that have been deemed by the EU to be supporting Russia’s war machine. The vessels that have been sanctioned are primarily involved in circumventing the oil price cap mechanism implemented by the West, in arms deliveries, and in the transportation of stolen grain. This latest package has brought the total number of vessels sanctioned by the EU to 79. The majority of the vessels are involved in the transport of Russian oil and in transporting arms for the Russian military. The sanctions package also targets a total of 54 individuals and 30 entities that are deemed to be bolstering Russia’s war effort. Among them, there are also entities and individuals in China and North Korea who have been deemed to be supplying Russia with dual-use materials to support Russia’s military efforts. Two senior North Korean officials and seven Chinese individuals and companies have been targeted in the latest sanctions. The purpose of the sanctions has been defined to increase the operational costs for Russia by banning them from ports in the EU and hindering them from receiving maritime services.

The Russian operation of selling stolen Ukrainian grain is continuing. This time the 'Finikia' had taken on a load of grain in Sevastopol and headed towards Syria. The Turkish authorities were requested prevent the vessel from crossing the Bospjorus or calling on Turkish seaports. The vessel owned by Syriamar, the state-owned shipping agency of Syria. The company itself was blacklisted by the US government in 2015 for its connections to the Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad. Despite the sanctions, the company and its vessels have continued their operations. The 'Finikia' has transited the Bosphorus twice in the past two months, turning off its AIS each time. Its signal has reappeared on return to the Turkish VTS zone, where it is mandatory to have a working AIS transmission. This is indicative of the crew of the 'Finika' turning off their AIS transponders to conceal their activities. As of May 24, the ship was moored off Iskenderun. Ukrainian intelligence believes that the stolen grain is laundered through Syria for sale in neighboring countries.

Fire on Board at Lattakia 10.08.21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAfOh0Hfbn4