Two German companies suspected of deliveries to Crimea bypassing sanctions

Two German shipping companies are suspected of violating EU sanctions on Russia because of Crimea, the Deutschlandfunk radio station (DLF) reported on Friday, 6 July. According to reports, Hansa Heavy Lift from Hamburg and Heinz Corleis KG from Stade delivered titanium ore (ilmenite) to Russia, which then appeared in Crimea.

In November and December 2017, Hansa Heavy Lift and Heinz Corleis KG were delivered to Russia. The port "Caucasus", which is located in the Kerch Strait, a total of about 35 thousand tons of titanium ore from Norway, reports DLF. The ore was transferred to the water on the Russian ship Nefterudovoz-2 which, according to DLF, was going to the port in Crimea 20 km away

In Crimea there is a company "Crimea Titan" which produces titanium dioxide for paint and varnish. other industries. Titanium ore is also used in the defense industry, so it's not clear if it falls under EU sanctions against Russia, but at the same time its supply in Crimea is clearly prohibited, say the journalists. Meanwhile, Heavy Lift and Heinz Corleis KG said that they did not know that the ore would be on the peninsula, but that its deliveries to the Russian Federation did not conflict with the sanctions.

that the ship with ore went to Crimea, DLF radio station, in particular, the editor of the blackseanews.net news portal, the head of the NGO's supervisory board Ukrainian "Maydan of Foreign Affairs" Andrei Klimenko . According to him, Russia itself does not need supply ilmenite because it is extracted in sufficient quantities in the Urals. European companies should consider that the port of the Caucasus is used to circumvent sanctions, Klimenko believes.

The Hamburg prosecutor's office confirmed to the DLF that allegations of infringement against Hansa Heavy Lift and Heinz Corleis KG were filed. Meanwhile, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported an investigation against the Norwegian company Titania kronos, which extracted the so-called delivered Crimean ore, reports DLF. Norway, which is not part of the EU, has already joined the sanctions imposed because of Crimea.