One man's hobby helps enforce sanctions against Russia

2023-09-01 20:33:08, Kosova & Bota CNA

It all started as a hobby, but monitoring Russian cargo ships in the Bosphorus and spotting those who are violating sanctions by transporting illegal cargo from occupied ports in Ukraine has become an important resource for the world's media and monitoring organizations. the implementation of sanctions.

From his terrace, Yoruk Isik films another Russian cargo ship crossing the Bosphorus near Istanbul. Starting from the Black Sea, its destination is the European market and beyond. For Mr. Isik, it all started as a hobby. But for the political analyst, watching ships has become a personal passion.

"I'm interested in Russian foreign policy, and watching ships in the Bosphorus provides me with data on Moscow's foreign policy and what they're engaged in, what they plan for the coming months," says analyst Yoruk Isik with the "Bosphorous Observer" organization.

The waterways of the Bosphorus pass through a strait of several hundred meters, which makes it easy to observe ships. Mr. Isik records the name of the ships, the cargo and the flag under which they sail. It works with an international network of volunteers and non-governmental organizations that share online data on the movement of Russian cargo ships.

The data is important to the world media and others monitoring the implementation of sanctions. Mr. Isik's website, bosphorusobserver.com, has become an important source for the media, including the Reuters news agency, which uses his photos.

Since sanctions-violating ships often turn off the automatic identification system that enables tracking by international authorities, surveillance efforts by people like Isik are vital, say organizations working to expose Russian vessels that violate sanctions.

"This type of ship surveillance is very important as sanctions violators manipulate automatic trackers in various ways. In some cases they make the ship appear to be in another place. All the data gathered from the surveillance is likely to be valuable," George Voloshin, an expert on financial crimes, tells VOA.

He says such monitoring helped expose Russian exports of Ukrainian grain and coal, stolen from Moscow-occupied Black Sea ports. Mr. Isik recorded a good number of these ships passing through the Bosphorus Strait. Moscow denies the accusations of violating sanctions.

Turkey has limited jurisdiction over the waters off Istanbul, an area known as an international hub for hundreds of empty cargo ships and tankers that frequently change hands.

Experts say this makes tracking difficult and creates favorable conditions for those seeking to circumvent a long list of sanctions. Another problem is Turkey's refusal to implement the sanctions. Ankara says it is not obliged. Trade between Russia and Turkey has increased since the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

"Russia is the most sanctioned country in the world. So most of the people who are engaged in trade with Russia are trying to hide their activities because they are worried that some of these sanctions will somehow come back and haunt them," the analyst told VOA. Yoruk Isik.

In 2015, Mr. Isik exposed the Russian naval export of arms to the Syrian government in its fight against rebels. Now, he spends much of his free time tracking the ships, which he says will continue to traffic for many years, as Russia shows no signs of changing its stance./ VOA