The Zhibek Zholy, which was anchored in the bay of the port of Karasu, on the Black Sea, issued its last signal about twenty kilometers from the Turkish coast overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, according to the specialized site Marine Traffic, which allows to follow maritime traffic live.
According to a senior Turkish official and a Turkish diplomatic source, who requested anonymity, the ship has since entered Russian territorial waters in the direction of Port-Kavkaz, in the Kerch Strait which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.
According to the Turkish news agency DHA, the cargo ship cut off its transponder, the device used to track ships at sea.
The Ukrainian authorities had deplored earlier Thursday that the boat was able to leave the Turkish coast, demanding an explanation from Ankara.
«We regret that the Russian ship Zhibek Zholy, loaded with stolen Ukrainian grain, was allowed to leave the port of Karasu despite the evidence (…) presented to the Turkish authorities», tweeted the spokesperson for the Ukrainian diplomacy, Oleg Nikolenko, announcing the summoning of the Turkish Ambassador to Kyiv by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Russian diplomacy acknowledged on Wednesday that Turkish checks were underway on the ship.
A crew member, quoted on condition of anonymity by Russian news agency TASS, said the ship’s cargo would be transferred to another freighter to let the Zhibek Zholy sail again.
Ukraine, which accuses Russia of stealing its wheat crops, claimed that the Zhibek Zholy, which left last Thursday from the Ukrainian port of Berdiansk, under Russian occupation, is loaded with 7,000 tonnes of grain obtained illegally.
The Ukrainian embassy in Ankara asked Turkey the next day to stop the Russian ship.
Since the start of the case, the Turkish authorities have remained silent.
A member of NATO, Turkey is considered an ally of Ukraine to which it supplies combat drones, but it takes care to maintain a neutral position towards Russia, on which it depends for its gas supplies in particular.