00:00What do we know about the Abings Ship?
00:06A cargo ship accused by Ukraine of carrying grain from Russia's occupied territory
00:11has docked in Israel and left port.
00:14Tracking data shows that Russia's flagged bulk carrier
00:17arrived at the port of Haifa on the 12th of April
00:20and departed on the 15th of April.
00:23After leaving the port, the vessel's statutes changed to inballast,
00:26meaning 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
00:35it had warned Israeli authorities in advance about the vessel
00:38and the possible origin 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
00:53because it considers Russia's annexation illegal,
00:56these rules only apply in the bloc.
01:00Countries like Turkey and Israel are not banned by these sanctions,
01:04meaning enforcement depends on national law.
01:07However, some NGOs are urging Ukraine's allies to recognize grain seizures from Crimea
01:12as looting and impose sanctions on the vessels and companies involved.
01:16Ukraine and investigators from the Sea Crime Project
01:19say 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
01:29and then exported from the port of Kafkas as a Russian export.
01:33Ukraine considers such export illegal
01:36and that they may amount to looting under international law.
01:39But without binding international restrictions,
01:42shipments and vessels like this can still move through global ports.
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