00:00What do we know about the Abing's ship?
00:06A cargo ship accused by Ukraine of carrying grain from Russia's occupied territory has docked in Israel and left port.
00:14Tracking data shows that Russia's flagged bulk carrier arrived at the port of Haifa on the 12th of April and
00:21departed on the 15th of April.
00:23After leaving the port, the vessel's statues changed to in ballast, meaning it was no longer carrying cargo.
00:29Its destination is listed as the Turkish port of Çanakkale.
00:33In a statement, Ukraine's foreign ministry said it had warned Israeli authorities in advance about the vessel and the possible
00:39origin of its cargo from occupied Ukrainian territory.
00:42So if the cargo was disputed, why was the ship allowed to dock?
00:47It's because there is no global ban on Russian grain exports.
00:50While the European Union bans imports for occupied Crimea because it considers Russia's annexation illegal, these rules only apply in
00:58the bloc.
01:00Countries like Turkey and Israel are not banned by these sanctions, meaning enforcement depends on national law.
01:06However, some NGOs are urging Ukraine's allies to recognize grain seizures from Crimea as looting and impose sanctions on the
01:14vessels and companies involved.
01:17Ukrainian investigators from the Sea Crime Project say that at least 7,500 tons of the cargo carried by Abins
01:24may have initially been loaded in occupied Crimea.
01:27They claim it was transferred between vessels and then exported from the port of Kafkas as a Russian export.
01:33Ukraine considers such exports illegal and that they may amount to looting under international law.
01:39But without binding international restrictions, shipments and vessels like this can still move through global ports.
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