Italian financial police in Brindisi have seized a Tuvalu-flagged bulk carrier loaded with more than 33,000 tonnes of black metal on suspicion of breaching EU sanctions on Russia. The ship and its cargo were held after problems were spotted in its import paperwork.
Authorities have not publicly named the vessel, but Italian outlet Opinion Agency reported that tracking data point to the HIZIR REIS, owned by Turkey’s Emiroglu Shipping, the only cargo ship in Brindisi whose Tuvalu flag and appearance match footage released by investigators. Voyage data from onboard records, the ECDIS navigation system, satellite imagery, and Lloyd’s S&P Global Maritime show a call at Novorossiysk in Russia from 13 to 16 November 2025, where prohibited loading operations are alleged. Investigators say the AIS signal was turned off near the port and that the itinerary filed with customs concealed this stop and relied on falsified documents.
A Brindisi investigating magistrate ordered the seizure, a decision later upheld on appeal. The importing company, the shipowner, and two crew members are under investigation for trying to evade EU restrictions imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Italian police reported major inconsistencies in documents covering both the cargo’s origin and the vessel’s port calls, adding that they reconstructed the route despite misleading statements by the captain and efforts to obstruct the inquiry.
Separately, The Times reported that the United Kingdom is considering directing revenue from oil cargoes confiscated from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet to support Ukraine’s defence, potentially using special forces boarding missions against tankers such as Spring Fortune and Range Vale, which sail under false flags and have been sanctioned for links to Russia’s war economy.
