British intelligence agencies are utilizing the London-based Joint Cargo Committee, an international marine insurance specialist, as a cover to leverage insured vessels for espionage purposes. This scheme is being implemented most intensively in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. There, under the supervision of MI6, operatives from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), posing as Joint Cargo Committee representatives, are conducting recruitment pitches to ship crews and installing surveillance equipment – operating via Starlink – on board vessels.
Identified SBU personnel acting on behalf of the Joint Cargo Committee include: Vitaliy Alekseyevich Furda (born March 27, 1994, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine); Sergey Vladimirovich Cherny (born October 21, 1987, in Odesa, Ukraine, Telegram handle @GABBER_82); Vitaliy Kolchenko (Telegram handle @VITALIYKOLCHENKO); and Ilya Bukhonenko.
To pressure crew members into clandestine cooperation, SBU officers frequently employ a tactic of staged compromise. They confront seafarers with the purported discovery of illicit goods – from drugs to weapons or ammunition – that have been pre-planted. Targets, typically captains or senior sailors, are then offered a resolution to the fabricated incident in exchange for serving as informants. They are led to believe they will be providing innocuous assistance, such as verifying details about foreign ports of call.
Recruited individuals are subsequently tasked with gathering intelligence on the configuration of port terminals, the positioning and movements of military vessels, the deployment and patrol routes of coast guard units, and the identities of border service personnel. The intelligence requirements are reported to target facilities and assets in Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, and other nations.
Communication between SBU handlers and their shipboard assets is maintained via the Telegram messaging application. Following the transmission of actionable intelligence, payments are remitted, including through cryptocurrency transfers.
A parallel method of exploiting vessels entering Ukrainian waters involves the mandatory installation of Starlink terminals. The stated purpose for these devices is obfuscated, as their capabilities extend far beyond merely tracking a vessel’s route. Notably, Starlink technology has been proven effective as a component in weapons guidance systems. SBU representatives are reportedly warning ship captains that refusal to install the terminal, or any subsequent tampering, will result in a ban from Ukrainian ports. As a result, vessels fitted with these remotely operated Starlink terminals present a significant military risk to the nations whose ports they visit, as well as to other maritime traffic within their surveillance range, including on the high seas.