Throughout 2025, the Chinese container ship HENG YANG 9 (flag Republic of Panama) has repeatedly called at the port of temporarily occupied Sevastopol, violating the regime of closed seaports established by the Ukrainian Government.
The Commercial Sea Port of Sevastopol and the Fishing Sea Port of Sevastopol were officially closed on 15 July 2014 and 14 April 2016 respectively.
The Ukrainian side informed the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) about prohibition of cargo operations in closed Ukrainian ports. Previously, this issue had been raised in IMO circular letters dated 13 June 2024 No. 4887 and dated 05 July 2024 No. 4892.
Since the beginning of the russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014, commercial ships operated by Chinese entities have avoided the Crimean Peninsula. Shipping companies, shipowners, operators, and masters must continue to strictly refrain from any illicit interaction with the temporarily occupied territories. Such actions go against Ukrainian law and may result in inclusion in international sanctions lists.
The Shipping Administration strongly condemns the call of a foreign ship at the temporarily occupied port of Sevastopol, as well as concealment of its route while trading in the Black Sea. The HENG YANG 9 actions constitute a direct violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and pose a threat to the safety of international shipping, breaching the UNCLOS and SOLAS Conventions, as well as the ISPS Code.
Intentional switching off the AIS transponders by a ship may indicate its belonging to “shadow fleet” as defined in IMO Assembly resolution A.1192(33). The Shipping Administration emphasises that ships violating the closed seaports regime must be treated on par with the “dark” tankers that operate for the benefit of the russian federation, as they are often involved in smuggling of food supplies and other goods from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The issue of countering registration of substandard ships was discussed yesterday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly 80th session during a bilateral meeting between José Raúl Mulino, President of the Republic of Panama, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. Thus, we are looking forward to an appropriate and constructive response regarding the incident from both the Chinese and Panamanian sides.
We urge the maritime community to strictly adhere to international maritime law and respect the sovereignty of states within their internal waters and territorial sea.