A Chinese-owned cargo vessel has docked in the port of Sevastopol for the first time since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing satellite images, photographs and transponder data.
The series of stops by a foreign tanker in Sevastopol, which is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine and is barred by Western sanctions, is unprecedented.
The Panama-flagged container ship Heng Yang 9, operated by the Guangxi Changhai Shipping Company, has stopped in Crimea at least three times in recent months, the FT said, citing Ukrainian officials.
The vessel moored in Sevastopol on Sept. 14after departing Istanbul on Sept. 2 and stopping near the southern Russian port of Novorossiysk four days later.
While the crew later declared it was heading to the Port Kavkaz, satellite images from the European Space Agency on Sept. 9 and 11 showed the ship had diverted to Sevastopol.
According to the FT, the vessel repeatedly falsified its transponder data during the two-week voyage in the Black Sea to conceal its movements.
