«Blacklist»: despite of EU sanctions, SYN ATLAS, an Italian LNG carrier loaded at Kerch, a port in the occupied Crimea. Investigation

Based on Shipping Explorer

According to BSNews and Maidan of Foreign Affairs (Kyiv), SYN ATLAS, an Italian LNG tanker, loaded in Kerch fishing port on July 28-29. It thereby violated the Law of Ukraine and resolutions of international organizations concerning the occupation and annexation of Crimea.

The loading of SYN ATLAS at the LNG terminal started at 20:56 (LT) on 2014-07-28. The tanker left the seaport at 13:52 (LT) on 2014-07-29.

The investigation discovered that it was not the first time when this ship visited Kerch after Crimea had been annexed.

Official info

Entrance to ports in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula occupied and subsequently annexed by Russia, means that ship owners, captains and crews of the ships commit a crime under Article 332-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

This article was integrated into the Criminal Code when the Law of Ukraine "On the rights and freedoms of citizens and legal procedures on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine."

Under this law, administrative and criminal liability for illegal crossing of the border in a group and violation of the procedure for entering the occupied territory applies to the crews of ships that enter Crimea.

Sooner or later, this leads to significant fines for crew members and more serious consequences for the owner and the captain including arrest of the given vessel or other vessels of this owner at Ukrainian and international ports.

The Criminal Code of Ukraine:

"Article 332-1. Violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the territory of Ukraine under temporary occupation:

1. Violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the territory of Ukraine under temporary occupation for the purpose of harming the interests of the state are punishable with restraint or imprisonment for up to three years and confiscation of vehicles.

2. The same acts committed repeatedly or with prior conspiracy in a group of people, or by an official through abuse of office are punishable with imprisonment for up to 5 years and deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years, as well as confiscation of vehicles.

3. The actions specified in items 1 or 2 of this Article, if committed by an organized group, are punishable with imprisonment for five to eight years, deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years, and confiscation of vehicles”…

BSNews and Maidan of Foreign Affairs (Kyiv) call on the Ukrainian law enforcement authorities and our followers to pay attention to the fact that our materials are not merely media information, but a record of crimes committed or suspicions of crimes.

We offer companies mentioned here to respond to this information by e-mail to blackseanewsyala@gmail.com or by post to: Maidan of Foreign Affairs, Blackseanews;13, Tryokhsvyatytelska Str., Office 15, Kyiv, Ukraine, 01001.

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The fact that BSNews and its partner, Maidan of Foreign Affairs (Kyiv), have put these vessels on the blacklist of entities who fail to comply with the legal procedures for the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine means that we closely monitor and carry out other promising administrative, diplomatic, marine and law-related actions with regard to these vessels and their owners.

According to earlier reports by BSNews, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution concerning the annexation of Crimea on March 27. It was supported by 100 countries.

" ...General Assembly

1. Affirms its commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders;

2. Calls upon all States to desist and refrain from actions aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including any attempts to modify Ukraine’s borders through the threat of use of force or other unlawful means;

....

5. Underscores that the referendum held in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on 16 March 2014, having no validity, cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or of the city of Sevastopol;

6. Calls upon States, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on the basis of the above-mentioned referendum and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing any such altered status”…

We would like to thank all volunteers who have contributed to this project from the very first day. The followers who are interested in this issue are welcome to actively participate in our “black list” project...

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BSNews is grateful to Shipping Explorer for the possibility to use its special software
for the Black Sea and Azov Sea Ports Today project.

Based on data from:

www.marinetraffic.com, www.shipspotting.com

(LT) or (мв) = local time