Bulker with stolen Ukrainian grain leaves Israeli port for neutral waters, ambassador claims victory
Israeli company Zentsiper refused to accept a shipment of wheat suspected of being stolen from Ukraine, and the grain carrier has left Haifa port for neutral waters, Israeli publication The Marker reported on Thursday.
"We won, the grain carrier is going to neutral waters from the port. We will complete the criminal and sanctions cases," Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniichuk said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
Zentsiper informed SGM, the supplier of the wheat cargo suspected of being stolen from the Russia-occupied east of Ukraine, on Thursday morning that it would reject the cargo from the Russia vessel. The company stated that "the Russia supplier of the wheat cargo will be forced to find another place for unloading." According to the publication, this is the first case where a shipment of grain suspected of being stolen was rejected and not unloaded in Israel.
The report refers to the vessel Panormitis, which was anchored off the coast of Haifa, carrying approximately 20,000 tonnes of barley and about 6,000 tonnes of wheat with a total value of about $7 million. According to the Ukrainian government, these goods originated from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry previously reported a request regarding the vessel Abinsk, which was at the Haifa roads awaiting unloading.
As early as Wednesday, The Marker reported that Zentsiper planned to receive the cargo from the Panormitis, but on the same day, company CEO Itai Ron stated that "these are the first vessels since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine that allegedly have non-kosher goods on board." Against this background, Zentsiper requested instructions from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding unloading the vessel, after which it decided to refuse it on Thursday. The company is one of the oldest and largest grain importers in Israel, importing from Europe, the US, and South America.
This week, an investigation by Haaretz newspaper showed that for the past three years, shipments of stolen Ukrainian wheat, disguised as wheat from Russia, have been arriving in Israel.
Following the occupation of eastern regions of Ukraine, sanctions were imposed on Russia, which also concerned trade in stolen wheat harvested in occupied territories and the use of Ukrainian ports occupied by Russia. However, sanctions do not apply to wheat grown in Russia. Grain importers say they cannot verify the origin of wheat purchased in Russia. As the Haaretz investigation revealed, Russia has several methods of exporting grain from occupied territories of Ukraine without vessels mooring in occupied Ukrainian ports and falling under sanctions. One method involves using small feeder vessels that transport wheat to a larger vessel heading to export markets in Egypt, Syria, and Israel, which allows for the falsification and denial of the grain’s origin. According to the publication, the Panormitis was loaded using the feeder vessel method.
As reported, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine Michael Brodsky was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Tuesday, April 28, where he was handed a note of protest over the ongoing arrival in Israel of agricultural products illegally exported by Russia from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian side emphasized that the origin of this grain has been established for certain, and the schemes for hiding it, including ship-to-ship reloading in the Black Sea, are well known, including to the Israeli competent authorities. Despite this, the relevant cargoes continue to enter Israeli ports and be introduced into commercial circulation," the comment says.
It was also noted that in the current case, the vessel in question is the Abinsk, but several vessels with agricultural products illegally exported by Russia from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine had previously arrived in Israel.
Separately, the Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Israeli side’s ignoring of official appeals from Ukraine and requests for international legal assistance, including requests to detain vessels and cargoes, effectively creates conditions for the legalization of stolen Ukrainian grain. The Ministry stated that it considers these cases not as isolated incidents, but as a systemic practice with signs of deliberate assistance to illegal economic activities related to the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, as well as the circumvention of sanctions. It is emphasized that in this regard, Ukraine demands that the Israeli side immediately take measures to stop the import of stolen grain and prevent its unloading in Israeli ports.
A day earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, in response to the summons of the Israeli ambassador, stated that the accusations were not supported by evidence and that no request for legal assistance had been submitted before the public statements, and emphasized that the issue would be considered. "You did not even submit a request for legal assistance before turning to the media and social networks. This issue will be considered," he wrote on X.
On April 29, Korniichuk reported sending a request for legal assistance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of Israel regarding the situation with the arrival of agricultural products illegally exported by Russia from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
