Russia supplies stolen Ukrainian grain to Houthis: UN allows ship to pass

A Russian-flagged vessel has secretly exported grain from the port of occupied Sevastopol to Houthi-controlled Yemen for the second time in months.

Ukrainian grain thefts have become commonplace since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with dozens of ships transporting grain from occupied ports to Syria, Iran and elsewhere, according to a Bellingcat investigation.

Ukraine has long advocated for ports to reject such cargoes if they know their origin, and has raised the issue with the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

In this case, the Zafar (IMO: 9720263) loaded grain at the port of Sevastopol in early October and arrived in Salif, Yemen, in mid-November. It docked in Djibouti a few days before its journey to Salif.

All vessels bringing goods to Houthi-controlled ports are required to stop in Djibouti for inspection by the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) for Yemen.

However, UNVIM did not respond to requests for comment on whether the Zafar was inspected while in Djibouti. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), which is the UN secretariat’s focal point for UNVIM, did not respond.

However, satellite imagery and ship tracking data showed that the Zafar was docked in Djibouti in early November after being anchored for several days.

UNVIM’s role is to facilitate the movement of commercial goods to Yemeni ports not controlled by the government, as well as to help enforce the UN arms embargo.

It is also possible that the Zafar may not have disclosed its port of departure to UNVIM. The vessel concealed its presence in Sevastopol by turning off its AIS. He had to provide a bill of lading and a permit from the port of loading, although it is impossible to know what was stated on these forms without access to the ship’s documentation. The ultimate owner of the Zafar is unknown, but the ship’s operator did not respond to requests for comment.

The port of Sevastopol is currently under US and UK sanctions, and the terminal where the Zafar docked in Sevastopol is under EU sanctions.

However, there are still no UN sanctions on the port of Sevastopol or Russia, the journalists note.

USM previously reported that the ship carrying stolen Ukrainian grain was heading to Yemen.