Hidden imports provide economic lifeline to Assad and funds for a Russian oligarch under EU sanctions
In January, a cargo ship flying the Honduran flag disappeared from international tracking systems off the coast of Cyprus. When it reappeared a week later, the Sea Navigator was heading north to Europe. But the ship had not got lost – it had slipped into a Russian-controlled port in Syria to pick up phosphates, a key ingredient for making fertiliser.
Cheap Syrian phosphate exports to Europe have boomed in recent years. Europe has few phosphate reserves of its own and European farmers were already struggling to afford phosphate fertilisers before the war in Ukraine sent prices soaring even higher.
