Ukraine war: Lebanon seizes ship carrying ‘stolen’ Ukrainian grain

Ukraine has regularly accused Moscow forces of ransacking its grain warehouses, and claims grain shipment on board the Laodicea was ‘illegal’

Seizure of Syrian-flagged ship comes as Lebanon struggles with its own financial crisis, which includes a major bread shortage

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The ship “Laodicea” docked at port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. A Lebanese prosecutor ordered the seizure on Saturday of a Syrian-flagged ship that docked at a northern port with a cargo of Ukrainian grain Kyiv’s embassy in Beirut said was “illegal”.Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:21am, 31 Jul 2022

A Lebanese prosecutor ordered the seizure on Saturday of a Syrian-flagged ship that docked at a northern port with a cargo of Ukrainian grain Kyiv’s embassy in Beirut said was “illegal”.

Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat instructed police to investigate the Laodicea, which docked in Tripoli earlier this week, a judicial official said.

Oueidat “ordered the seizure of the ship until the investigation is completed,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Lebanese police were also instructed to consult Ukraine’s embassy after it claimed that the grain aboard the Syrian-flagged ship was loaded from a region occupied by Russian forces.

Syrian flag flutters on the ship “Laodicea” as it is docked at port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February, has regularly accused Moscow forces of ransacking its grain warehouses.

According to the Lebanese foreign ministry, the “Syrian-flagged ship is carrying barley and flour”.