(ANSA) - ROME, JULY 06 - Russian-backed separatists have seized two foreign-flagged ships in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, claiming that they are now "state-owned".
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic has informed two shipping companies that their vessels have been subject to "forced appropriation of movable property and forced conversion into state ownership" without any compensation for the owners.
These are the 'Smarta', flying the Siberian flag, and the 'Blue Star', flying the Panamanian flag.
According to the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO), more than 80 foreign-flagged ships remain blocked in Ukrainian ports, many of which are under Russian control.
(HANDLE).