15 July 2025

Among the benefits of this conquest [the Sea of Azov] was access to two commercial Ukrainian ports — one in the shattered city of Mariupol, and another in smaller Berdiansk. Now under occupation, both have been repurposed to export Ukrainian grain and other commodities for Russia’s benefit.

However, an investigation... has found evidence suggesting that some of these grain exports may be taking place with Western participation. What appears to be the Russian branch of a company headquartered in Denmark has inspected and certified at least 170,000 tons of grain exported through the port of Berdiansk over the last one and a half years.

The Danish company, Baltic Control, is a global player in the business of inspecting shipped cargo...

Russian corporate records do not show Baltic Control having any ownership stake in the Russian company inspecting the Berdiansk grain, which operates under the Baltic Control brand as “Baltic Control Novorossiysk.”

But as recently as October 2022 — months after the Russian invasion — Baltic Control still listed an office in Novorossiysk, a Russian port city, on its website. (That entry has since disappeared.) Baltic Control’s 2021/2022 annual report also listed “Baltic Control Novorossiysk” as a related company. And in a conversation with a reporter posing as a grain exporter, a Baltic Control employee said that its Novorossiysk office was open and still functioning.

In addition, the Russian company registry does not show any change in Baltic Control Novorossiysk’s ownership immediately after the Russian invasion. Its sole owner remained the same Russian man who founded it in 2013, Alexander Shalimov.

In December 2014, a minority stake was acquired by a relative, but Shalimov continues to be the company’s majority owner today. Meanwhile, Shalimov also has a separate business relationship with Hugo Pedersen, the founder of Baltic Control: Until 2023, the two men jointly owned another company, also named Baltic Control Novorossiysk, registered in another Russian city. It’s not clear whether this company also played a role in the grain exports.

The Ukrainian government has long insisted that Russian export of Ukrainian grain constitutes a form of pillage — a war crime under international law; independent researchers have estimated the country’s losses in the billions...

Apave Group, Baltic Control, and Hugo Pedersen did not respond to requests for comment...

Nine different ships are mentioned in the letters... In total, the cargo amounts to over 170,000 tons of grain.

Reporters were unable to track the ships’ destinations...

The letters also state that the “independent surveying company Baltic Control” must oversee the loading operation, including inspecting the ships’ holds and monitoring the amount and quality of the loaded cargo and the safety of the loading operation...

Neither the Danish Baltic Control, nor Baltic Control Novorossiysk, nor Pedersen responded to detailed questions about these ownership structures and business relationships...