This is reported in a publication on the "Myrotvorets" website, reported by "Censor.net".
The shipment is camouflaged and carried out via the route Odesa-Khopu-Feodosia-Armyansk by two vessels - the Greek VENTO and the Syrian SOURIA. The latter is on the US financial intelligence sanctions list as it has repeatedly violated the prohibition on entry into Crimean territorial waters.
On the "Delo" portal site, it is stated, that the ships deliver Irshan ilmenite UMCC with a volume of 24 thousand tons and a cost of EUR 3.7 million. It was purchased from UMCC under a contract with the German ITS (International Trade & Sourcing GmbH & Co). Its director, Oleh Tsyura, concluded an agreement with UMCC head Peter Davis for the supply of these volumes on June 17.
Experts claim that the contract between Davis and Tsyura is quite unusual for the market.
"It provides for payment in euros, while the market quotes are usually in dollar equivalents. I assume that this helps avoid dollar compliance and avoid entanglements with American law enforcement. Secondly, the contract does not provide for the supply of product samples that could be tested, as traders or processors typically do when dealing with titanium raw materials for the first time (ITS had not been noted in this business before). Thirdly, the trader is ready to take a large volume of the product – 24 thousand tons – without testing it," — analyzes Dmytro Hordeychuk, director of IA "Infoindustry".
Obviously, the expert believes, the buyer knows what they are getting. Irshan ilmenite supplied "Crimean Titan" until 2014.
"Trusted ilmenite does not need to be tested, and since that time, the Irshan Mining and Processing Plant has not changed the production technology," — says Hordeychuk.
Ilmenite is shipped to Crimea through the intermediation of UMCC management and the State Property Fund. This was reported to the publication by port workers.
"On the UMCC side, board member Yuriy Solovey, close to ex-head of the Administration of Ukrainian Sea Ports Yuriy Vaskov, was responsible for ensuring the deal. According to port workers, they "pushed" the loading of the VENTO without a certain offloading port. When customs delayed the shipment, the head of the State Property Fund, Dmytro Sennychenko, intervened."
The loading is still ongoing. On August 3, the vessel "SOURIA" was loaded with a second batch of ilmenite in the Turkish port of Khopa. This is evident from the port reports of "Myrotvorets".
The United Mining and Chemical Company was established in August 2014. It manages the Irshan Mining and Processing Plant and the Vilnogorsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant. 2018 ended with a net profit of 114.9 million UAH. The value of assets is 3.4 billion UAH. In February 2020, the State Property Fund changed the company’s management. Since April, UMCC has been managed by Peter Davis. The enterprise is put up for privatization in 2020.
05 August 2020 г., 22:21
