Italy seized a ship for allegedly violating EU sanctions by secretly docking at a Russian port with metal cargo.

Italy has detained a vessel in Brindisi over suspicions it violated EU sanctions by calling at Novorossiysk, a Russian Black Sea port, between November 13 and 16. Authorities found falsified documents and evidence the ship deactivated its AIS tracking system to conceal its stopover. The vessel, flying a small island nation’s flag, carried 33,000 tons of metal cargo from Russia. The seizure reflects EU efforts to enforce sanctions against Russian trade amid the war in Ukraine, though details on the ship’s owner, crew, and cargo specifics remain limited.