screenshot Andrii Klymenko
The vessels were detained to the south of the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk.
Ukrainian monitoring groups have reported seven cases since the evening of Monday, July 2, when coast guards of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) detained foreign ships in the Sea of Azov south of Berdyansk, Ukraine.
"At about 20:30 Moscow time on July 2, 2018, the coast guards of the FSB of the Russian Federation detained the Turkish dry cargo vessel HALISDEMIR (IMO: 9517331), which was going from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol to Türkeli (Turkey). It was stopped at a distance of 12 nautical miles (22 km) south of the Berdyansk Spit (46°25'59" N 36°45'52" E). The detention lasted two hours from 20:30 to 22:30," Andriy Klymenko, the head of the supervisory board at the Maidan of Foreign Affairs Foundation and the editor-in-chief of the portal BlackSeaNews, wrote on Facebook on July 3.
He also reported another case when at around 00:30 Moscow time on July 3, 2018, the FSB coast guards detained the Turkish dry cargo vessel NAZLIM (IMO: 7802122), which was heading for Mariupol. It happened at a distance of 11 nautical miles (20 km) south of the Berdyansk Spit (46°28'06" N 36°50'34" E). The ship was detained for three hours from 00:30 to 03:30.
"If Ukraine's Foreign Ministry promptly adds these facts to the 'sea' lawsuit of Ukraine with the international court, then they will be added there in one or two years and considered in five years...," he wrote.
On July 4, Klymenko reported five more incidents in the Sea of Azov.
In particular, at about 17:00 Moscow time on July 3, the Russian coast guards stopped the Ukrainian cargo ship SELECTA (IMO: 9424807) flying under the flag of Liberia; the ship was heading from Mariupol to Diliskelesi (Turkey). It was stopped at a distance of 13 nautical miles (23 km) south of the Berdyansk Spit (46°26'06" N 36°44'54" E) for four hours.
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At about 04:30 Moscow time on July 4, they detained the Egyptian dry cargo vessel MAR BIANCO (IMO: 8115576) for three hours. It was stopped at a distance of five nautical miles (9 km) south of the Berdyansk Spit (45°16'57" N 37°16'56" E). It was heading from Gemlik (Turkey) to Berdyansk.
At about 06:30 Moscow time on July 4, the Turkish BARON (IMO: 9394210) barge flying under the flag of Turkey was stopped for three hours at a distance of 3.8 nautical miles (6.8 km) south of the Berdyansk Spit (46°34'00" N 36°45'00" E). It was heading from Haifa (Israel) to Berdyansk.
At about 07:30 Moscow time on July 4, the FSB coast guards detained a large-sized Turkish bulk carrier, NAZMI C (IMO: 9577769), its deadweight is 34,719 tonnes, its length overall x breadth extreme is 179.56 m × 30m. "Such a ship needs at least one hour to stop. [It had] 30,000 tonnes of freight," Klymenko added. The incident happened at a distance of 26 nautical miles (46 km) south of the Berdyansk Spit (46°11'11" N 36°44'26" E). The ship was heading from Mariupol to Monfalcone (Italy).
What is more, the Russians detained the STAR vessel (IMO 9381938) at 11:00 Moscow time on July 4. The incident happened 20 miles (36 km) south of the Berdyansk Spit. The ship was heading from Hereke (Turkey) to Berdyansk.