In recent days, in the port of Brindisi, a subjected to emergency preventive seizure a ship, flying flag of a small island in Oceania, coming from the waters territory of the Black Sea with a cargo of 33,000 tons of ferrous material. Following investigations carried out by the Guard and the Brindisi Customs Agency, with the coordination of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Brindisi, is in fact, a precautionary measure was issued, according to provided for by European Regulation 833/2014, in compliance with the measures taken as part of the sanctions packages against of the Russian Federation as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The regulation and subsequent additions provide for the prohibition of both to carry out commercial transactions in certain locations, including some ports of the Russian Federation, as well as to import certain categories of goods, as well as the application of sanctions against a number of natural and legal persons.

The Guardia di Finanza has announced that the checks carried out the ship has brought to light serious inconsistencies, forgeries and alterations of the related on-board documentation to the places of rest and loading operations of the goods. In particular, it was ascertained that from 13 to 13 On November 16, the ship stopped and operated in the Russian port of Novorossiysk, which was subject to sanctions, carrying out prohibited operations of loading of the goods. In addition, it has been ascertained that the system AIS, i.e. the GPS transponder that allows ships to identify themselves and provide their position, route and speed, had been deactivated near the port of Novorossiysk probably with the intention of escaping the geolocation and to hinder control activities of the competent authorities. The investigations carried out have made it possible to reconstruct the exact route and operations carried out by the ship in violation of the Community Regulation in sanctions against the Russian Federation, despite the misleading statements by the ship's captain, the alteration of documents and the switching off of the transponder.

Following the seizure of the ship and the entire cargo, the importer, the owner and some of the crew members are were placed under investigation for circumventing restrictive measures of the European Union.