The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has found traces of explosives in a foreign cargo ship en route from Turkey to southern Russia’s port of Rostov-on-Don, Russian Interfax news agency reported.
The FSB claims that it found signs of “third-party interference in the structural parts of the cargo ship.”
The ship was banned from crossing the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Russian special services are now checking other vessels passing through the Kerch Strait.
“These circumstances may indicate the possibility of using the foreign civilian ship to deliver explosives to the territory of Ukraine,” FSB said.
According to the FSB, the cargo ship in question was bound for Rostov-on-Don to load grain.
The security service has stated that in late May, the ship was docked at the Ukrainian port of Kilia. In July, the ship arrived at the Turkish port of Tuzla, where it changed its name and “completely replaced” its crew of 12 Ukrainian nationals, the FSB added.
The FSB’s move came one week after Russia pulled out of an agreement that had enabled Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports, with ships undergoing security inspections.