Baltic Control, a Danish company that provides surveyor services—independent inspections of ships and cargo to prevent disputes over damage—has been implicated in helping Russia export grain stolen from the occupied Ukrainian port of Berdyansk. The findings come from a joint investigation by KibOrg and NGL.media.Journalists obtained internal port documentation covering ship traffic to and from Berdyansk between 2024 and 2025 and verified 20 vessels that completed a total of 85 voyages. According to shipping records, the grain was sent to countries including Turkey, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh.Altogether, more than 420,000 metric tons of agricultural products were exported from Berdyansk by occupying Russian forces during that time.Three Russian companies used the port most frequently: Bars LLC (Lipetsk), Selektaagro LLC (Crimea), and First Trading Company JSC (Moscow). Other vessels were linked to entities such as Grace LLC, Agora LLC, Terra Trade Company LLC, Element Agro LLC, and Makoveya LLC.Although most of these ships have been under U.S. sanctions since May 2022, some are still not designated. These include vessels like Victoria K, Victoria V, Captain Yakovlev, Captain Mironov, and Sormovskiy 48.Investigators also identified 34 ship captains involved in the illegal shipments. Seven of them still hold Ukrainian citizenship, including 48-year-old Crimean native Serhii Ryzhov, who entered Berdyansk six times aboard the Sofiya, and 55-year-old Vadym Honcharov, who holds the record with 13 voyages on the Nadezhda during the same period.Among those supporting the illicit operations was Baltic Control. Until October 2022, the company’s website listed an office in Novorossiysk, Russia. That listing was quietly removed, but Baltic Control never publicly announced an exit from the Russian market.Documents from the Berdyansk port reveal that Russian companies operating there continued to rely on Baltic Control’s services. For example, in March 2025, during the scheduling of the Leonid Pestrikov for a voyage from Berdyansk to Egypt via Kavkaz, the contract specifically required hold inspection by Baltic Control.Investigative teams from KibOrg and Slidstvo.Info confirmed that these services were provided by the Russian branch of the Danish firm Baltic Control, which remains operational inside Russia despite the ongoing war.Deputy Chairman of the Berdyansk District Council Viktor Dudukalov says there is a large number of FSB agents, police and Russian guards in Berdiansk, and among the functions of the special services is work on the territory of penal colony No. 77, which is a torture chamber.