Overview

• The Panama-flagged Heng Yang 9, owned by Guangxi Changhai Shipping Company, visited Sevastopol at least three times in recent months, according to Ukrainian officials and FT analysis.
• Financial Times confirmed the September call using optical satellite imagery, radar data, AIS signals and photographs, identifying Sept. 14 as a key date.
• Investigators say the vessel transmitted false transponder coordinates during its September voyage to conceal a stop at the Crimean port.
• Ukrainian authorities link the ship’s visits to Russia’s new rail connection to Crimea and a broader routing of goods from occupied Donetsk and Kherson, a claim they continue to press diplomatically.
• After the Sevastopol calls, the ship called at Turkish ports and sailed to Alexandria, and Russian authorities have separately declared Berdiansk and Mariupol open to foreign vessels.