RUSSIAN-BACKED donetsk People's Republic forces have seized two foreign-flagged ships, the Liberian flagged 15,968-dwt bulker Smarta and the 5,246-dwt Panamanian general cargo carrier Blue Star I in Mariupol, the city that fell to Moscow in May, Reuters reports.
The 8-year-old Donetsk People's Republic has informed two shipping companies that their vessels were the subject of 'forcible appropriation of movable property with forced conversion into state property', without any compensation to the owners, according to two separate letters seen by Reuters.
Smarta Shipping, the owner of the Liberian ship, said it was informed of the seizure by email on June 30, calling it unlawful and 'against all norms of international law'.
'Such forced appropriation is in breach of fundamental human rights in so far as property rights are concerned,' the company said in a statement.
The company said the Smarta arrived in Mariupol on February 21 to load a steel cargo and was hit by shelling on March 20 that seriously damaged its bridge.
It said the 19-member crew had been forcibly taken by the Russian military to Donetsk and released a month later.
As far as the Panama-flagged Blue Star I, an official with the vessel's Odessa-based manager Fetida Maritime declined to comment, adding that Ukraine's security service had all the information.
A Ukrainian foreign ministry official said it was aware of an announcement by 'the Russian occupation authority in Donetsk to create a 'national' fleet comprised of ships they had stolen in Mariupol', adding they were checking on the vessels seized.
More than 80 foreign-flagged ships remain stuck in Ukrainian ports, UN data showed. Some of those terminals remain under Russian control.
SeaNews Turkey
The 8-year-old Donetsk People's Republic has informed two shipping companies that their vessels were the subject of 'forcible appropriation of movable property with forced conversion into state property', without any compensation to the owners, according to two separate letters seen by Reuters.
Smarta Shipping, the owner of the Liberian ship, said it was informed of the seizure by email on June 30, calling it unlawful and 'against all norms of international law'.
'Such forced appropriation is in breach of fundamental human rights in so far as property rights are concerned,' the company said in a statement.
The company said the Smarta arrived in Mariupol on February 21 to load a steel cargo and was hit by shelling on March 20 that seriously damaged its bridge.
It said the 19-member crew had been forcibly taken by the Russian military to Donetsk and released a month later.
As far as the Panama-flagged Blue Star I, an official with the vessel's Odessa-based manager Fetida Maritime declined to comment, adding that Ukraine's security service had all the information.
A Ukrainian foreign ministry official said it was aware of an announcement by 'the Russian occupation authority in Donetsk to create a 'national' fleet comprised of ships they had stolen in Mariupol', adding they were checking on the vessels seized.
More than 80 foreign-flagged ships remain stuck in Ukrainian ports, UN data showed. Some of those terminals remain under Russian control.
SeaNews Turkey