A joint investigation by Bellingcat and Lloyd’s List has identified Saudi Arabia as the newest country to import grain directly from a Western-sanctioned port in occupied Crimea, as Russia attempts to secure recognition of the Ukrainian territory via a US-led peace plan.
Satellite imagery and Automated Identification System (AIS) data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows the bulk carrier Krasnodar (IMO: 9296781) sailed from Avlita Grain Terminal in Sevastopol to Saudi Arabia on two occasions between September and November 2025. Bellingcat confirmed Krasnodar’s journeys ended at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port in September and the Port of Jazan in November.
These journeys show that Saudi Arabia has joined buyers in Iran, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Venezuela and Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen who are willing to accept what the Ukrainian government describes as “stolen” grain.
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Black Sea
Krasnodar goes dark – an AIS gap lasting more than two weeks begins on August 22.
Occupied Crimea: Port of Sevastopol
Imagery shows Krasnodar docked at Berth 21 of the Avlita grain terminal at the Port of Sevastopol on August 27.
Credit: Planet Labs PBC
Black Sea
Krasnodar turns its AIS back on in the Black Sea, as required to transit the Bosphorus on September 6.
Bosphorus Strait
Krasnodar transits the Bosphorus. Judging by the draft, with no visible red paint on its hull, the ship appears to be fully laden.
Credit: Yörük Işık
Saudi Arabia: King Abdullah Port
Imagery (as well as AIS data) shows Krasnodar docked at the King Abdullah Port. A pile of what appears to be grain is visible to the right of the image on September 18.
Credit: Planet Labs PBC
Bosphorus Strait
Returning via the Suez Canal, Krasnodar transits through the Bosphorus on September 28 with its red paint fully visible, indicating it is not heavily laden.
Credit: Yörük Işık
Black Sea
Krasnodar goes dark – an AIS gap lasting more than one week begins on October 6.
Occupied Crimea: Port of Sevastopol
Satellite imagery shows Krasnodar docked, with its hatches open, at Berth 21 of the Avlita grain terminal on October 8.
Satellite image ©2025 Vantor
Black Sea
Krasnodar turns its AIS back on in the Kerch strait. After a few days loitering in the Kerch strait, it transits through the Bosphorus.
Bosphorus Strait
With no red paint visible and the Plimsoll line near maximum draft, the vessel appears to be fully laden when it transits the Bosphorus on October 26.
Credit: Yörük Işık
Saudi Arabia: Jazan City
AIS data shows Krasnodar docked at Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries for seven days. Planet imagery captured it on November 6.
Credit: Planet Labs PBC
After leaving Jazan, Krasnodar returned to the Black Sea via the Bosphorus on November 23.
It stopped transmitting AIS for a third time on November 24 for nine days and has been intermittently transmitting data since.
Krasnodar was again captured in satellite imagery docked at the Avlita terminal in Sevastopol on November 26.
Krasnodar captured in satellite imagery docked at the Avlita terminal in Sevastopol on November 26. Credit: Planet Labs PBC
Petrokhleb-Kuban Denies Visiting Avlita Terminal
Documents accessed on Russia’s federal registry indicate the vessel is leased by Russian firm Petrokhleb-Kuban, a major player in Russian and international grain markets.
Petrokhleb Kuban told Bellingcat it “categorically denies any allegations of involvement in the theft of grain from Ukrainian regions”.
It added that Petrokhleb-Kuban does not export grain from the Avlita terminal to any country.
“Petrokhleb-Kuban does not operate at the port of Avlita and does not ship grain from there. All grain shipped by Petrokhleb-Kuban is produced by Russian farmers,” a spokesperson said.
“The vessel Krasnodar follows all widely accepted safety protocols and does not disable its AIS while on passage. The AIS signal in the Black Sea is being jammed by the military due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
The spokesperson also said the vessel Krasnodar was loading barley at the port of Kavkaz, “as confirmed by bills of lading and port clearance.”
AIS interference is rampant in the Black Sea, however, instances of jamming typically do not last more than a couple of days. Further, third-party disruptions impact all vessels in one area indiscriminately.
Bellingcat reviewed the AIS traces of vessels sailing near Krasnodar. In both voyages, Krasnodar was the only vessel in that area that stopped transmitting AIS data for that period of time.
Bellingcat also checked available Planet Labs PBC and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery covering the grain terminal in Port Kavkaz during the two periods of August and October where Krasnodar has absent or unreliable AIS coverage and found no vessels matching the length of the Krasnodar.
Bellingcat identified Krasnodar in Avlita terminal on three occasions, by cross referencing satellite images of Krasnodar and recent images and video of the ship. Krasnodar was last detected at Avlita terminal in satellite imagery on November 26, again with its AIS switched off. Krasnodar’s chimney is navy blue in colour, except for a white band on the left, right, and front side of the chimney. The ship’s other features – five grey hatches, four grey cranes, a red deck, a green floor on the bridge, all visually match known images of the ship.
Finally, the ship’s measurements (a total length of 183 metre according to Russia’s shipping registry) matches what we see in satellite images.
Visual Comparison: Images of Krasnodar at Avlita Terminal and other recent images of Krasnodar
The Krasnodar has a dark blue (midnight navy blue) chimney with a white band that runs around the sides and the front of the chimney, leaving the back completely blue.
A close up of the Krasnodar photographed in the Bosphorus on October 26, 2025. Credit: Yörük Işık.
The life boats are immediately to the left and right of the bridge. The boats can also be seen in satellite imagery from Saudi Arabia. The image below shows Krasnodar in Jazan.
Krasnodar seen in Satellite Image at the Port of Jazan, Saudi Arabia on November 6, 2025. Credit: Planet Labs PBC.
Satellite imagery also clearly shows the colour of deck (dull red), the floor colour of the bridge (green), the colour of the hatches and the cranes (grey). All of that, as well as the chimney (navy blue with white) can be matched with satellite imagery from Sevastopol that show Krasnodar docked at the Avlita grain terminal.
Left: Krasnodar seen in Satellite Image at the Port of Jazan, Saudi Arabia on November 6, 2025. Right: Krasnodar seen in Satellite Image docked at Avlita grain terminal in the Port of Sevastopol on October 8, 2025. Credits: Planet Labs PBC and 2025 Vantor.
Five grey hatches and a red deck. The image on the left is from Jazan (November 6). The image on the right is from Sevastopol (October 8).
A close up of the above images. Credits: Planet Labs PBC and 2025 Vantor.
If we zoom in on the bridge, we can also see that the shape and the colour (grey) of the top of the bridge are also a visual match.
The chimney is not very clearly visible in the image from Jazan but it is clear that the chimney is dark in colour. The image from Sevastopol shows a dark blue chimney with a white band, which was also visible in images and video of Krasnodar.
Left: Krasnodar seen in Satellite Image docked at Avlita grain terminal in the Port of Sevastopol on October 8, 2025. Right: A close up of the Krasnodar taken in the Bosphorus on October 26, 2025. Credits: 2025 Vantor and Yörük Işık. Annotations by Bellingcat.
We see red on the hull, below the water line, in the Sevastopol satellite image. You can also see it in the image from when the ship transited the Bosphorus. The rest of the hull is dark.
Left: Krasnodar seen in Satellite Image docked at Avlita grain terminal in the Port of Sevastopol on October 8, 2025. Right: Krasnodar photographed in the Bosphorus on October 26, 2025. Credits: 2025 Vantor and Yörük Işık.
There are no live or historic sanctions on Krasnodar, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.
Saudi Arabia Joins List of Importers of Russia’s Smuggled Grain
Krasnodar’s voyages from Sevastopol to Saudi Arabia demonstrate that Russia is continuing to expand its grain exports from occupied Crimea to new markets as it negotiates to end the war in Ukraine.
Crimea’s occupied ports have become important assets for Moscow, having evolved into key logistics hubs for dark grain exports over the course of the war.
Prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the ports in occupied Crimea were used for the small-scale export of grain and scrap metal, mostly to Syria and Turkey.
The occupation of additional territory in Donetsk and Zaporizhia enabled Russia to establish a new supply route, resulting in more grain being shipped south to Crimea for export to international markets.
The Port of Sevastopol and the Avlita grain terminal remain under European, UK and US sanctions. While no UN sanctions specifically target the port, a majority of UN member states have passed resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its occupation of Crimea since 2024.
Ukraine has repeatedly tried to dissuade countries from purchasing shipments loaded with what it describes as “stolen” grain from occupied regions.
In 2023, Iran received its first grain shipments from Sevastopol. In 2024, it was joined by Venezuela, Libya, Egypt and the Houthis, which control territory in Yemen. Last month, Bellingcat revealed that the bulk carrier Irtysh (IMO: 9664976) delivered grain from the Crimean port of Sevastopol to the Houthi-controlled port of Saleef in Yemen despite Western Sanctions.
Bellingcat and other news outlets have identified a total of eight countries that have imported grain directly from occupied Crimea.
While Saudi Arabia is the latest direct importer from Sevastopol, it is unclear if authorities are aware of the origin of the cargo.
The grain shipments follow a similar pattern to Russia’s shadow fleet, which moves sanctioned oil barrels. In both cases steps are taken to disguise the origin of the cargo and port of loading.
Most ships calling to Crimea disable their AIS transponders, which is considered a deceptive shipping practice, and fraudulent documents are issued.
Alona Shkrum, First Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, told Bellingcat that Ukraine was closely monitoring Russian exports from occupied territories. She said Ukraine had discussed the issue with Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of recent talks at the International Maritime Organisation Assembly.
She told Bellingcat that Ukraine had “received assurances that Saudi authorities are actively counteracting the risks posed by shadow fleet operations and other violations of international maritime law.”
She added that Ukraine would continue to work with partners to identify and sanction vessels involved in the illegal export of grain from occupied territories.
Bellingcat contacted both the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; neither responded to requests for comment.
US-Russia Peace Plan and Ownership of Ukraine’s Ports
The US-Russia 28-point peace proposal includes the recognition of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk as “de facto” Russian. Ownership of Crimea and the occupied territories bordering the Sea of Azov is critical for securing shipping routes to and from Russia, and these ports play a vital role in supporting economic growth in the region.
However, the impact of ceding control of this region and the port of Sevastopol to Russia is not mentioned in either the original US draft plan or subsequent amended versions.
Ian Ralby, chief executive of the maritime and resource security consultancy I.R. Consilium said while it was a high priority for Ukraine to ensure access to the grain market through the Black Sea is preserved, Russia is continuing to try to expand its global access to ports.
“We see that there is a resurgence in Russia’s efforts on port access.”
“As the prospect of potential peace begins to loom, even though it seems to be much farther off than many would want, there is likely to be a renewed focus on the key strategic assets that matter for the future, and the ports have to be foremost among them.”
Bridget Diakun, Yörük Işık, Youri van der Weide, Peter Barth and Galen Reich contributed to this report. Cover image: Planet Lab image shows Krasnodar docked at Jazan City, Saudi Arabia on November 6. Credit: Planet Labs PBC.*Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel* here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Twitter here and Mastodon here.
The post Russia’s Smuggled Grain Finds New Market in Saudi Arabia appeared first on bellingcat.
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