What do we know about the ship seized in Mariupol that made Salvini rejoice
Salvini's declarations The blockade of the Tzarevna and its 15 thousand tons of steel The "nationalization" of Tzarevna The value of the cargo Twitter content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Salvini's declarations "Well, the most powerful weapons are dialogue and diplomacy, commitment for Peace it is worth more than any criticism ”, wrote Salvini in a tweet on the evening of May 31, 2022, sharing the screenshot of an article in the Corriere della Sera entitled Moscow: The first freight ship left from the port of Mariupol. In all likelihood, the Northern League leader did not go beyond the title in reading the piece, because he would have discovered that it is not a food supply ship bound for the countries awaiting Ukrainian wheat, but a Russian ship, bound for Russia. loaded with metal probably stolen.
The blockade of the Tzarevna But let's go in order. On March 24, one month after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the Shippingitaly website the shipowner Cosulich denounced how one of his Maltese-flagged ships, the Tzarevna, had been damaged by a bomb while it was anchored in Mariupol, remaining blocked in port since the beginning of the attack. "The problem is not so much the bombing, the port has been spared enough, but the Azov sea is full of mines and you can't get out, it takes a path to get out", explained Cosulich.
On ship, bound for the Friulian port of Monfalcone, contained 15 thousand tons of steel owned by the Ukrainian company Metinvest and produced in the now famous Azovstal factory. "A part is destined for our steel plant, Tecnosider, a rolling mill in San Giorgio di Nogaro where we produce 400 thousand tons of sheet metal every year and where the raw material came precisely from Ukraine", Cosulich stressed.
Since then, nothing has been known about the ship and its cargo, but in the meantime Mariupol has fallen into Russian hands. It is May 20, 2022 when the Kremlin declares complete victory in the conquest of the city, as reported by the BBC, and after just ten days a ship loaded with steel leaves for the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. This was announced on Telegram by the same pro-Russian leader of the self-proclaimed people's republic of Donetsk, Denis Pusilin, by publishing a long message and a 3-minute video of the ship's departure.
The "nationalization" of the Tzarevna We have therefore arrived at May 31, 2022 and Pusilin writes on Telegram: “Today 2,500 tons of steel left the port of Mariupol and the ship headed for Rostov. In the Russian Empire, the construction of the Mariupol port contributed to the industrial development of our region. I am sure that even now its reopening will help to accelerate the recovery and economic growth ”. Shortly after, in Repubblica Cosulich declares: "It is a theft, it is as if the car you parked in the street were stolen from you".
According to the entrepreneur’s statements, the separatist authorities have informed him that the ship and cargo have been nationalized by the government of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk. “Basically and in a nutshell, they steal it from us in defiance of international law - added Cosulich -. We have contacted the Maltese Prime Minister who will make an official protest in Moscow. But we would be pleased that, being Italian property, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do the same ".
The value of the cargo The steel cargo alone was worth around 21 million euros, plus the cost of the cargo ship , a considerable loss for the entrepreneur and the recipients of those resources. The hypothesis of the theft, in addition to the statements of the separatist authorities reported by Cosulich, is also supported by the numerous complaints by Metinvest, according to which Russian soldiers have set their sights on metallurgical products that have remained stationary in Mariupol due to the invasion. A total of about 200 thousand tons of metals, worth 170 million dollars, destined for Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Turkey, which will instead be sent to Russia.
