The Russian takeover of the port of Mariupol has seen the occupiers move quickly to bring
the port back into action. Not only will it be used as a location for reinforcements supplies, but it is also, according to reports, being used to transport Ukrainian produce to Russia.
A loading of rolled metal onto cargo ship RM 3 (IMO 8877241) was reported, with the metal to be exported in small batches. On Friday May 27th the Ukraine’s largest steelmaker Metinvest said that the seizure and resumption of the Mariupol port indicated that the occupiers could export metallurgical products to the ports of Rostov, Taganrog, Novorossiysk, Tuapse,and Sevastopol.
On May 24th the Russian Defense Ministry had announced the complete demining of the port in occupied Mariupol and the opening of a corridor for the departure of foreign
vessels.
On May 28th TASS reported that a ship had entered Mariupol for the first time since Russia
completed its capture of the city. TASS said that the metal would be shipped east to Russia, rather than west to Sevastopol.
A spokesperson for the port told TASS that the vessel would be loading 2,700 tonnes of metal before traveling 160 km (100 miles) east to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don
on Monday May 30th.
Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said that “looting in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine continues”, adding that “following
the theft of Ukrainian grain, the occupiers resorted to exporting metal products from Mariupol.”
Metinvest said on May 27th that it was concerned that Russia might use several ships stranded in Mariupol to “steal and smuggle metallurgical products” belonging to
the group.
1983-built, 2,193 gt RM 3 is owned by Brimwell Inter Ltd care of River Sea Management Co
Ltd of Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. It is entered with VSK.
