- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine to Auction Ship Seized for Illegally Docking in Occupied Crimea
- Authors
![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) has announced the upcoming sale of the ”ANKA”, a Turkish-owned maritime vessel detained for breaching Ukrainian sanctions by entering ports in Russian-occupied Crimea. The agency confirmed on July 29 that the ship is now being prepared for public auction following a court ruling granting permission for its disposal.
The ANKA was seized after it illegally docked in a Crimean port in violation of Ukraine’s law on temporarily occupied territories. The vessel’s arrest was initiated by the Prosecutor’s Office for the Crimea and Sevastopol, and was subsequently transferred to ARMA for asset management.
“The ARMA team has completed the necessary inventory and appraisal procedures. We are moving forward with the realization of this vessel through a transparent public auction,” the agency stated in an official release.
The ship, categorized as a mixed-use dry cargo vessel, will be sold via the SETAM electronic trading platform, which handles seized property in Ukraine. Proceeds from the sale are expected to be transferred to the state budget.
Ukraine has intensified efforts to enforce its maritime embargo on Crimea since 2014, targeting foreign vessels that violate national sovereignty by conducting trade with the occupied peninsula. In recent years, Kyiv has ramped up both legislative and enforcement measures to penalize such breaches, including asset forfeiture mechanisms under ARMA’s authority.
According to a prior statement by the Crimean Prosecutor’s Office, vessels that enter occupied ports are regarded as engaging in illegal economic activity and may be subject to seizure and forced sale. The ANKA case marks one of the latest high-profile examples of this legal enforcement strategy.
Meanwhile, Russia has exported over 400,000 tonnes of stolen Ukrainian grain through the occupied port of Berdiansk since 2022, according to an investigation by Schemes and Skhemy/Radio Liberty.
Satellite imagery, shipping data, and customs records reveal that more than 20 bulk carriers, primarily Russian-flagged, have transported grain from the port in violation of international law.
