Thursday, December 28, 2023

NYK Plans Full-Scale Biofuel Trial Over Longer Period Validating Stability

bulker loading biofuel in Singapore — Frontier Jacaranda loaded biofuel in 2021 as part of progressive testing of the alternative fuel (NYK)

NYK will conduct full-scale trials of long-term use of biofuels starting in 2024 as the company looks to advance on its goals for reducing carbon emissions. The latest program comes as a progressive series of tests expanding the use of biofuel in partnership with its shipping customers.

“Moving forward from the previous short-term trials, NYK will comprehensively verify the safety and stable procurement of biofuels when used over a long period. Through this trial, NYK will establish a safe navigation system using biofuels and promote biofuel development,” according to the company’s announcement.

In this trial, NYK will use biofuel continuously for three months on multiple vessel types. After that, NYK will gradually extend biofuel use for a longer period for further validation. This test will explore the impact of extending the length of use of the fuel and issues such as storage of the fuel.

NYK highlights that while it has confirmed the safety of short-term biofuel use, it has not verified the impact of biofuels on the ship’s main engine, generator, motor, fuel supply system, etc. One of the key points they will be exploring is the quality of biofuels after a certain storage period.

Since fiscal 2019, the NYK Group has conducted short-term biofuel trials on about 10 vessels. NYK also needed to ensure the stability of biofuel procurement when used in more vessels.

The testing of biofuel has advanced since the first trial in 2019 when they tried biofuel on a dry bulk carrier Frontier Sky while the vessel was docked in Rotterdam. Working with shippers Anglo American and biofuel supplier Toyota Tsusho, they ran a longer test loading the fuel in Singapore aboard the bulk carrier Frontier Jacaranda for a voyage to South Africa in June 2021. A third bulk carrier, Frontier Sky, conducted a trial voyage from Singapore to India in November 2021.

Last year, NYK expanded the trials including operating a round trip between Singapore and South Africa aboard a Capesize bulker named Friendship. That test confirmed that biofuel can result in up to a 10 percent CO2 emissions reduction compared to conventional marine fuel.

NYK working with Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha which operates tugboats launched the first test of 100 percent concentration biodiesel on a ship. Starting in July 2022 they tested navigation on the higher concentration of biodiesel.

The upcoming test looks to extend the previous experience by increasing the period during which biofuel is used on the ship as well as involving an increasing number and type of vessels. It is a key part of the company’s goal to cut emissions by 45 percent from 2021 level by 2030.

Japan’s First Mega-Yacht Cruise Ship Ordered and Will be Built in Portugal

cruise ship construction — Portugal's West Sea which is building exploration cruise ship received the order for Japan's firsth mega-yacht cruise ship (West Sea - Viana Shipyard)

The expansion of Japan’s cruise ship market is continuing with the news that a new mega-yacht cruise ship has been ordered. Traditionally marketing domestically to Japanese travelers, the cruise sector is seeing new growth in Japan as both NYK and Mitsui O.S.K. launched new investments while niche operators such as Peace Boat added a newer cruise ship.

The luxury mega-yacht was ordered last week by Japan’s Ryobi Holdings, a diversified company that includes operations in transportation and tourism. The transport group currently operates ferries and excursion boats as well as buses and a tour company.

“We plan to offer a different kind of cruise life experience, such as enjoying a visit to a remote island on a small boat,” writes Ryobi announcing its first cruise ship order. They explained that their plan will be Japan’s first yacht-style passenger ship. It will have features common in this sector including a marina in the stern for water activities, which will be the first on a newbuild in the Japanese market. MOL will also be introducing this feature when it takes over a cruise ship in 2024 acquired from Carnival Corporation’s Seabourn Cruises.

Ryobi has contracted West Sea – Viana Shipyard, a Portuguese shipbuilder started just a decade ago. The company has built river cruise ships for several of the major brands and starting in 2018 entered the ocean-going segment building luxury exploration cruise ships. West Sea is building a total of seven 9,900 gross ton cruise ships for a Portuguese company Mystic Cruises. Starting with the World Explorer in 2019, the ships are 413 feet (126 meters) with luxury accommodations for 200 passengers, The first of the ships are operating under charter while Mystic also launched Atlas Ocean Voyages to market its exploration cruises.

Ryobi reports that the ship will be approximately 360 to 390 feet (110 to 120 meters) in length and 9,000 to 10,000 gross tons, making it similar in size to the Mystic cruise ships. The plan is for just 60 staterooms with accommodations for 120 passengers plus 100 in crew.

The design will emphasize luxury and hospitality with the idea being that each passenger can feel like the owner of a mega-yacht. The cruise ship will operate mainly in Japan and southwest Asia.

The new Japanese cruise ship will be built at the Viana do Castelo shipyard and is scheduled for delivery in 2027. West Sea is valuing the order at around €100 million.

The concept of modern mega-yacht cruise ships was launched as the cruise industry developed with the first new ships known as the Sea Goddesses launched in the mid-1980s. The niche market has continued to grow and was elevated by Scenic Cruises which recently built two mega-yacht style luxury cruise ships as well as two similar ships for its Emerald Cruises brand. These ships are marketed internationally and will now be joined by the Ryobi ship.

The Japanese cruise market is seeing a resurgence with NYK building a 52,200 gross ton cruise ship Asuka III at Meyer Werft, while MOL is using the ship acquired from Carnival Corp. to launch a new international cruise operation. MOL has also reported plans to build cruise ships for the Japanese market. The major international cruise brands also operate cruises marketed to Japan which is seen as a growing market for leisure travel.

Brazilian Court Acquits Two Former Sembmarine Executives in Bribery Case

Brazilian shipyard subsidiary Sembcorp Marine — The corruption case centers around Sembcorp Marine's subsidiary in Brazil and a consultant to the company (file photo)

Two executives related to the former Sembcorp Marine’s operations in Brazil were acquitted last week in the long-running corruption, bribery, and money laundering case related to contracts the company won a decade ago from Brazilian offshore energy company Sete Brasil. The company and its then competitor Keppel Offshore were involved in a wide-reaching corruption case which has come to be known as Operacao Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash) in Brazil.

The case stems back to the competition to win contracts in 2012 from Sete. It has been alleged that consultants and the executives of the operation in Brazil, a subsidiary of the then Sembcorp Marine were involved in various schemes including money laundering and bribery to influence the awarding of the contracts. Sembcorp Marine won seven drillship contracts from Sete Brasil valued at $5.6 billion.

The case has been dogging the companies with settlements over contract disputes dating back to 2016. Sembcorp Marine has provided statements acknowledging the different investigations dating back to 2019 and the 2020 indictment of the two executives based on their personal actions.

The former president of Sembcorp Marine’s Brazilian subsidiary, Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz Ltda, Martin Cheah Kok Choon was indicted in 2020 on charges of money laundering and corruption. Martin Cheah had been terminated from the company in 2015.

The case centered around Guilherme Esteves de Jesus who acted as a business consultant to the then president of the company. He was also indicted in 2020 on charges of money laundering. Another court in Brazil had previously sentenced him to 19 years in jail for related charges of corruption.

Seatrium, which was formed through the acquisition of Keppel by Sembcorp Marine, reports on December 20 the Brazilian Federal Lower Court acquitted the two men of all the charges that had been brought against them personally related to the allegations of corruption. The charges were not against the company. They note in the announcement that the Brazilian Federal Prosecutors’ Office may appeal the court’s decision.

In March 2023, the Office of the Comptroller General of Brazil (CGU) published a notice in the official gazette informing of the ongoing investigation into the company’s subsidiary, Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz. Reports were that the investigation was later suspended but the case has continued to linger over the company. Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in June 2023 also started a new investigation which the company linked to the pre-2015 activities of Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary in Brazil.

After the latest developments in Brazil, Seatrium writes, “The company cannot predict how the abovementioned decision by the Brazilian Federal Lower Court will impact the current investigations or allegations relating to Operation Car Wash.”

The company reiterates that it is fully cooperating with the Brazilian authorities and monitoring developments in the investigations. They also said that they do not condone and will not tolerate improper business conduct, but that the potential outcome of the investigations into Operation Car Wash is still uncertain.

China Sentences Ex-Chairman of Shipbuilder CSIC to Jail in $8M Bribery Case

Chinese executive convicted of accepting bribes — Hu Wenming was convicted for taking bribes valued at $8.4 million while leading CSIC (China Merchants file photo)

A court in Shanghai sentenced the former chairman of China Shipbuilding Industry Company (CSIC), Hu Wenming, to 13 years in jail after a three-and-a-half-year investigation on charges of accepting bribes and abuse of power. Hu had been one of the leaders in the shipbuilding industry including heading China’s aircraft carrier development program and engineering the merger to create China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

Hu was found guilty of taking advantage of his positions of leadership for personal gain and causing “huge losses to national interests.” According to the court papers, he helped organizations and individuals in project contracting, business cooperation, asset acquisition, personnel promotions, and deposit collections. The court ruled he accepted cash and property valued at $8.4 million.

Hu, age 66, had started his career in 1975 and been a member of the Community Party since 1978. He retired in 2019 when the merger of CSSC and CSIC was completed. He was expelled from the Party in January 2021 about seven months after the corruption charges were first announced.

During his career, he was a deputy general manager of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and later became deputy general manager of CSIC. It was there that he would become head of the carrier program and rise to the role of chairman of CSIC. Hu was accused of using his position between 2001 and 2015 for his personal gain. They alleged he abused his position as chairman of CSIC and party secretary from 2013 to 2015 while helping to drive the effort to merge the two shipbuilding companies to create the largest shipbuilder in the world.

They alleged while in the role of chairman and secretary, he accepted bribes and deliberately violated the management duties of a state-owned company. He was reported to have acquired the assets of private shipyards which he profited from by making them subsidiary companies of CSSC during the merger.

He was ordered to serve 13 years in jail for his crimes and was also fined $700,000. The court ordering the monies he stole to be returned to the state treasury.

This is the third high-profile case of corruption prosecuted by the state against the executives of CSIC. In 2017 and 2018, they charged the yard’s “head of discipline,” and its general manager also with abuse of power, accepting bribes, and corruption. The yard’s former general manager, Sun Bo, was sentenced to 12 years in jail when he was found guilty of corruption.

Canada Funds More Research on Ballast Water Management

Ballast water discharge (IMO file image)

The Canadian government has committed US$8 million to fund research on ballast water management in order to prevent the spread of invasive species in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

As shipping activity increases in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system, threats of aquatic invasive species are on the rise. The new arrivals have reduced native biodiversity, impaired fisheries and caused other ecological and socioeconomic impacts in the Great Lakes. The region is now home to nearly 200 non-native aquatic plants, animals and microorganisms.

To deal with the growing problem of aquatic invasive species, Transport Canada is funding four organizations that are undertaking research on ballast water management. The organizations - Albion Marine Solutions, Algoma Central Corporation, Armateurs du Saint-Laurent and Mouawad Consulting Canada LP - will advance industry-led solutions to technical challenges related to the installation, operation and maintenance of ballast water management systems.

The discharge of ballast water has been the leading cause of invasion in the Great Lakes since 1959, when the modern St. Lawrence Seaway was opened to accommodate larger ocean vessels carrying cargo.

Transport Canada says that the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region poses technical and operational challenges when it comes to the treatment of ballast water, where water can be cold, fresh and sometimes mixed with sediment. The Ballast Water Innovation Program aims to address these challenges by improving technical expertise for the region's specific conditions.

“By investing to find new ways to manage ballast water, we are protecting biodiversity and ecosystems from invasive species in Canada. We are making marine shipping safer for marine ecosystems, and we're strengthening how we respond to marine incidents through Canada's Ocean Protection Plan,” said Pablo Rodriguez, Transport Minister.

Apart from funding innovative solutions, Canada has also introduced the Ballast Water Regulations aimed at preventing 34 aquatic invasive species from being introduced and spreading in Canadian waters by 2044, including five severely damaging species.

A cargo ship picking up Ukrainian grain hits a Russian floating mine in the Black Sea, officials say

MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE RED SEA

HANNA ARHIROVA
Thu, December 28, 2023

In this photo provided by Ukraine's Border Guard Service, a Panama-flagged civilian cargo vessel is seen in Odesa region Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. The vessel hit a Russian mine resulting in two injured sailors, said Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces on Thursday. The vessel was supposed to arrive to one of Danube ports to load the grain. (Ukraine's Border Guard Service via AP Photo)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A civilian cargo ship struck a Russian mine in the Black Sea near Ukraine’s Danube ports Thursday, injuring two sailors, officials and analysts said, in an incident that underscored the dangers faced by those exporting Ukrainian grain during the war.

The Panama-flagged vessel struck the floating mine during stormy weather as it went to pick up grain, according to Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces, adding that churning seas often increase the risk from mines.

As the fighting grinds on through the winter and likely into a third year after Russia’s February 2022 invasion, and with little recent change along the front line, Ukraine is aiming to strengthen its financial resources for what could be a protracted war.

After Russia pulled out of a U.N.-brokered export agreement last summer, Ukraine launched a new Black Sea shipping corridor to get grain, metals and other cargo to world markets. That has given a boost to Ukraine’s agriculture-dependent economy.

The mine incident occurred about 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Chornomorsk, which is near Odesa on Ukraine’s southern coast, the Ambrey maritime risk analysis company said. The ship with 18 crew was on its way to Izmail, another port in the area.

The mine detonated at the ship's stern, causing equipment and machinery failure and resulting in the vessel losing power, Ambrey said. The captain reportedly maneuvered into shallow water to prevent the ship from sinking.

Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive last summer largely failed to shift the front line despite billions of dollars in weaponry sent by its Western allies. That has given confidence to the Kremlin’s forces, especially as further Western aid is in question.

One think tank argues that the front line is not currently “a stable stalemate." The Institute for the Study of War in Washington said in an assessment late Wednesday that “the current balance can be tipped in either direction by decisions made in the West or in Russia, and limited Russian gains could become significant especially if the West cuts off military aid to Ukraine.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that the U.S. and European Union countries plan to continue sending help to Kyiv.

“Neither Washington nor Brussels refrain from assisting the Kyiv regime (Ukrainian government) because they realize it would be doomed without such assistance,” Lavrov said in an interview with state news agency Tass that was released on Thursday. “They remain committed to containing Russia at the expense of Ukrainians and their lives.”

___

Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia contributed.

Greek Bulker Hits Mine off Ukrain Injuring Captain and Crewmember

bulker hit by mine — Photo released by Ukraine reportedly showing the Greek bulker at the moment the mine exploded (State Border Service)

A Greek-owned bulker inbound to Ukraine to load a cargo of grain struck a mine on Wednesday, December 27. The captain and one crewmember were reported injured in the latest incident in the Black Sea.

The vessel is being identified as the Vyssos, a smaller bulker built in 2007 owned by a Greek shipping company and registered in Panama. The 8,758 dwt vessel, which is 366 feet (112 meters in length), was heading to one of Ukraine’s ports along the Danube after holding in the anchorage off Sulina, Romania. Her AIS signal shows she was coming from Italy.

The mine is believed to have explored near the stern of the vessel causing it to initially blackout and lose navigational control. Ambrey is reporting the explosion took place approximately 80 miles southwest of Chornomorsk, Ukraine.

“The ship lost direction and control and caught fire on the upper deck,” the State Border Service of Ukraine wrote in a social media posting.

The vessel reportedly was able to restore some control and the captain maneuvered the bulker, either anchoring it in shallow water or purposefully grounding it on a breakwater depending on the media report. Ukrainian officials said assistance was sent to the vessel and that tugs helped to maneuver it later to port.

Medical team and Coast Guard from Ukraine provided assistance

A medical team from Ukraine boarded the Vyssos and provided assistance. According to the information, the captain suffered minor injuries and was treated on the ship. An Egyptian crewmember thought to be the cook suffered a head injury and was taken to a hospital in Ismail where he is reported to doing well. The Greek media says there is a total of 18 crew aboard, including three Ukrainians, two Turks, and 13 Egyptians.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov earlier in December highlighted the ongoing success of the grain export efforts. He said since starting the corridor in August, Ukraine has increased the rate of exports from 278,000 tons to nearly five million tons per month. He said over 300 vessels have as of mid-December transported more than 10 million tons of products from Ukraine to 24 countries. As of the middle of the month, he said a total of 337 vessels had arrived in Ukraine’s seaports to load mostly corn and grain as well as some other metal products.

While ships continue to transit the corridor, the danger remains high mostly from mines. Earlier in the fall, Ukraine’s Southern Command warned that Russian forces were dropping what it thought were bottom mines along the route and near the entrance to the ports. The Odesa Maritime Guard told AFP that the Vyssos was the third vessel to be damaged by a mine this month.

Bulker is reported to have lost power and steering but was able to maneuver closer to shore before being towed to port

Report: 19 Injured, 33 Missing in Strike on Russian Amphib

The independent Russian news channel Astra has confirmed that a Black Sea Fleet amphibious assault ship was sunk by Ukrainian forces in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The airstrike hit the Ropucha-class tank landing ship Novocherkassk at the port of Feodosia, in Russian-occupied Crimea. The initial blast started a fire, followed by a massive secondary explosion aboard the vessel.

The Russian defense ministry confirmed the strike and asserted that the ship was damaged. Satellite imagery taken later on Tuesday appeared to show that Novocherkassk had sunk at the pier, and independent Russian outlet Astra has released a photo confirming that the vessel has settled to the bottom. The top of its burned superstructure may be seen protruding from the water.

Astra also reported that casualty numbers were far higher than claimed by official Russian sources. According to the outlet, 77 sailors were aboard at the time of the blast, and 33 of them are believed to be missing. 19 others were wounded, and one port security guard was killed. (The casualty report could not be independently confirmed.)

"Such ships, as a rule, are not left without a crew," Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told Radio Svoboda. "And the crew is about 80 people. Given this type of ship, there could also be [others aboard]. The fact that this could not be done without victims is more like the truth."

By Pletenchuk's tally, seven of the Black Sea Fleet's 13 amphibs have been disabled or destroyed by Ukrainian strikes. Only six remain for military transport purposes. These ships are used to ferry munitions around the theater for Russian ground forces, and removing the vessels from service is a way to disrupt logistics for the invasion, he said.

Video: Ukrainian Strike Obliterates Russian Ship in Massive Blast

[Updated 12/26] Another Russian Navy landing ship has been attacked and destroyed by Ukrainian forces, adding to a growing tally of Black Sea Fleet ships that have been taken out of commission.

In a brief message Tuesday morning, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that the Ropucha-class landing ship Novocherkassk was destroyed in Feodosia, Crimea overnight. The AFU credited the attack to Ukrainian Air Force pilots.

"Crimea is Ukraine. There is no place for the occupier's fleet here," the AFU wrote.

The Russian defense ministry confirmed the strike in a statement to state media, and officials claimed that the two Ukrainian aircraft that launched the attack had been shot down. The ministry asserted that the ship was "damaged," but bystander videos and early satellite imagery appear to suggest a constructive total loss (and possible sinking).

The Russian-appointed governor of occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, confirmed that there had been "explosions from detonations of ordnance" stored in the port area. Multiple bystanders captured the event on video (below), and appear to depict a massive secondary explosion centered on the burning ship.

The first available satellite imagery of the scene appears to show a partially-sunken vessel at the location of the attack. Based on geolocation using historical imagery, the half-sunken wreckage shown within the red rectangle in the satellite photo corresponds to the location of the burning vessel (see video below).

Planet / Mark Krutov / X

Past satellite photos from October 2 provided by MT Anderson and Planet Labs appear to show a Ropucha-class landing ship berthed in the same location.

It is the latest in a long string of Ukrainian strikes on the Russian Navy, and the accumulated toll is having a strategic effect. Russian warships have pulled back from the port of Sevastopol, Crimea, retreating to the safety of Novorossyisk further east. The attack in Feodosia - a small port town halfway between the two larger seaports - confirms that Ukraine can reach deeper into Russian-held territory.

Ukrainian forces also destroyed a Russian landing ship at Sevastopol in September 2023 and another at Berdyansk in March 2022. (According to Mash.ru, the Novocherkassk was hit in the Berdyansk strike as well, but survived until her sinking Monday night.)

Other well-known attacks include the sinking of the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva in April 2022, the destruction of a Kilo-class sub in Sevastopol in September 2023 and a strike on a brand new missile boat at a yard in Kerch last month. In all, Ukraine says that its forces have taken 23 Russian vessels (of all kinds) out of action.

'Almost Naked' Moscow party triggers conservative backlash

Thu, 28 December 2023

Apologetic: media personality Ksenia Sobchak (WIN MCNAMEE)

A celebrity-studded "Almost Naked" party in Moscow's famed Mutabor nightclub has drawn outrage from Russia's political establishment, which has become increasingly po-faced since the assault on Ukraine.

Footage showing Russian VIPs in lingerie and raunchy costumes led to the arrest of a rapper for wearing nothing but a strategically-placed sock, and calls for boycotts and investigations.

The scandal shows the shrinking space for anything deviating from conservative patriotism in Russia since its deadly assault in Ukraine almost two years ago.

Amid the backlash, organiser Anastasia Ivleeva published a tearful apology video.

"I would like to ask you, the people, for a second chance... If the answer is no, then I'm ready for my public execution," she said Wednesday.

Over 20 people filed a class lawsuit against her, demanding she pay a billion rubles ($11 million) to a charity supporting the assault on Ukraine.

Her apology left some unmoved, including influential state television presenter Vladimir Solovyov.

"You want a second chance? Bring our guys heaters and drones in Tokmak" on the southern Ukrainian frontline, he told her on Telegram.

In an earlier post, Solovyov called the attendees "beasts, scum" and said: "You have no idea how much the people hate you."

The arrested rapper, Vasio, had already been sentenced to 15 days in jail for distributing "gay propaganda" and petty hooliganism, state-run news agency TASS said.

He was convicted under the "LGBTQ propaganda" law banning positive information on lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people, which authorities toughened last year.

- 'Irresponsible in heroic times' -

Russia's conservative spiral has deepened since the military operation in Ukraine.

But until recently liberal high society circles in Moscow had rarely been affected.

Apologies from people who attended the December 20 party have been trickling out over the past few days.

Russia's flamboyant pop king Filipp Kirkorov asked for forgiveness after footage circulated of him wearing a sparkling lace outfit with futuristic sunglasses.

"In today's difficult and heroic times, an artist of my calibre... cannot and should not be so irresponsible when participating in various events," he said on camera.

Ksenia Sobchak, a media personality and the daughter of Vladimir Putin's mentor, appeared in several photos in a beige dress with barbed wire patterns.

She said she understood "showing photos of the party to the whole world was inappropriate" at the moment in a post on social media.

And singer Dima Bilan said he "understood the resentment of our people, especially guys who are defending us on the frontline."

The Kremlin refused to comment, but foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova addressed the controversy.

"Life teaches us painful lessons," she said on Sputnik radio, according to state-run television.

"These people need to realise the depth of the problem and become better. For their own sake," she said.

bur/fg

FOUND HIM

Free Alexei Navalny from his Polar Wolf prison colony hell

Kim Sengupta
Wed, 27 December 2023

Alexei Navalny has been in prison since returning to Russia in 2021 (Getty)

Years of repeated incarceration in increasingly harsh prison conditions have failed to break Alexei Navalny. He has kept up an unceasing campaign against Vladimir Putin’s autocratic rule from behind bars, remaining the president’s most prominent opponent inside Russia.

For three weeks this month, there was silence from him. He could not be found by his legal team, family and friends despite an exhaustive search through the penal system. Officials across the country, from Mr Putin’s spokesman to prison authorities in both Moscow and far-flung provinces, claimed they did not know his whereabouts.

But as his supporters grew increasingly worried, the 47-year-old made a sudden reappearance from the brutal IK-3 penal colony in the Arctic Circle, known as Polar Wolf, 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.

In a series of deeply ironic messages from his X account, Mr Navalny insisted he was fine, compared himself to Santa Claus and described the “beautiful fluffy sheepdogs” watching guard. No pictures of him have been seen in his new place of imprisonment.

Over 20 days, he said he had been taken on a highly circuitous journey from Moscow to the penal colony in Kharp, a journey that should take around 40 hours by train. Describing conditions inside the camp, a former inmate gave an interview in 2018 to the daily newspaper Novie Izvestiya where he described how he was beaten “from all sides with a truncheon” on arrival.

Navalny has kept up an unceasing campaign against Vladimir Putin’s autocratic rule from behind bars (DPA)

Mr Navalny’s disappearance was not altogether an unusual event for those challenging the brutally powerful. Adversaries of Latin American military juntas, of organised crime gangs, of terrorist groups and of violent dictators around the world are among the disappeared. Some stay missing for ever; others turn up dead.

People like Boris Nemtsov, who was killed with four bullets to his back in Moscow in 2014, when he was organising protests against financial corruption and Russian intervention in Ukraine. Or, more recently, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his senior commanders, whose plane was blown out of the sky following the failed coup by their Wagner mercenaries.

But the fact that Mr Navalny went missing for so long became a matter of grave concern both at home and abroad.

Mariana Katzarova, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in the Russian Federation, expressed her fears: “Persistent ill-treatment in detention and lack of access to adequate medical care will cause further harm to his health and lead to great risks to his life.”

Kira Yarmysh, a member of Mr Navalny’s team, added: “No prisoner had ever simply disappeared for so long, especially not such an important prisoner.” Russians outside the country went to their embassies to protest, holding up posters asking “Where is Navalny?”

Ms Yarmysh said she believes the decision to move him to such a remote and inhospitable location was designed to isolate him, make his life harder, and render it more difficult for his lawyers and allies to access him. But the calls for his release grow only louder.

Navalny called Russian president Vladimir Putin a ‘madman’ and his ruling party ‘crooks and thieves’ (AFP/Getty)

Alexei Navalny came to fame and became a target for the Kremlin after accusing Mr Putin and the hierarchy around him of corruption and abuse. The president, he said, is a “madman” and his ruling party “crooks and thieves.”

Mr Navalny urged people not to simply complain about the malaise in Russia but to take action: “Everyone says corruption is everywhere but for me, it seems strange to say that and then not try to put the people guilty of corruption away.”

As support grew, he did not hesitate to aim at the top, accusing Mr Putin of running a system of “feudal patronage” with fabulous rewards. A documentary he presented – “Putin’s Palace: The Story of the World’s Biggest Bribe” – investigated the building of a £1.35bn luxury mansion, allegedly for the president, in the Krasnodar region. The Kremlin denied the claim but the video racked up more than 110 million views internationally.

Mr Navalny also pointed to the activities of the security apparatus and the plight of Russians pushing back against the state. “We have grown accustomed to injustice in Russia, people are constantly being arrested unlawfully,” he said. He also foresaw the inevitable retribution he would face: “I am in the very blackest part of the black list.”

The IK-6 penal colony where jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was last being held (AFP/Getty)

Over the years, Mr Navalny has faced physical attacks, repeated arrests, investigations, and criminal proceedings. He faced one assassination attempt, via Novichok nerve agent poisoning in Russia three years ago, which resulted in him being evacuated to Germany in a coma for life-saving treatment.

His family and lawyers say he has been suffering from an acute, undiagnosed, stomach illness while in prison. That, and general deprivation, has led to alarming weight loss and fainting spells.

Mr Navalny’s current jail term began when he returned from medical treatment in Germany to Russia in 2021, despite warnings from allies and friends that it would be highly dangerous. He was arrested at the airport, put before a court, and sentenced to two and half years of a former suspended jail term for alleged fraud.

This was just a holding move by the government prosecutors. In August 2022 he was sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of spending public donations to his Anti-Corruption Foundation on “extremism and personal needs”. In August this year, he was sentenced to a further 19 years of a raft of “extremism” charges. There were further charges, this time of “vandalism”, due earlier this month before he went missing.

If the authorities thought that prison would keep Mr Navalny quiet, they were mistaken. A lawyer himself, with a dedicated legal team backing him, he has filed suits to get adequate medical care, an end to the bugging of rooms where he met visitors, and no more broadcasts of Mr Putin’s speeches into his cell.

Protesters outside the Russian embassy in London in support of Alexei Navalny on his 47th birthday earlier this year (AFP/Getty)

Mr Navalny has published, with the help of his legal team and political allies, articles and manifestos about current affairs and kept up regular postings on social media.

Russia’s most prominent inmate has also given interviews in prison laying out the conditions he has faced. Describing the violence and repression of a penal colony, he told The New York Times: “You might imagine tattooed musclemen with steel teeth carrying on with knife fights to take the best cot by the window. You need to imagine something like a Chinese labour camp, where everybody marches in a line and where video cameras are hung everywhere. There is constant control and a culture of snitching.”

On other occasions, Mr Navalny has spoken about the mistreatment he has suffered: “I now understand why sleep deprivation is one of the favourite tortures of the special services. No traces remain, and it’s impossible to tolerate.”

He had to cope with the lingering effect of the Novichok poisoning with barely any medical help in prison. “It [has] got to the point where it’s hard to get up from the bed, and it hurts a lot. The prison doctor saw me and started dispensing two ibuprofen pills but did not tell me what my diagnosis is … If I place my weight on my right leg, I fall right down. I’ve got used to my right leg lately, and I’d hate to lose it.”

Despite many obstacles, Mr Navalny’s foundation has also remained active. It recently put up billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg and several other cities wishing everyone a happy new year. The boards displayed a QR code which, when scanned, opened a website titled “Russia Without Putin”, which urged citizens to vote for anyone but Mr Putin in the coming presidential election next March.

Navalny is seen on a TV screen, as he appears in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service in a courtroom in Moscow last year (AP)

The notice of further charges against Mr Navalny, and then his three-week disappearance, came as Mr Putin launched his campaign for a fifth term in office, with the foregone conclusion of an election victory meaning that he would be emulating Joseph Stalin with 30 years in power.

Ivan Zhadnove, the head of Mr Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, is convinced there is a link between what happened to Mr Navalny and the coming election. “I don’t believe in such coincidences: that Alexei goes missing just as we are about to announce our electoral campaign, a day before Vladimir Putin announcing he would run for president for an infinite new term. It’s not a coincidence, it’s the Kremlin strategy,” he said.

The Russian president’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, denied that the Kremlin had anything to do with Mr Navalny’s ongoing persecution, adding that the central government has “neither the intention nor the ability to track the fate of convicts”.

Following Mr Navalny’s conviction in August, extending his sentence by 19 years, the court ordered that he be moved to a “special regime” penal colony. The 25 prisons with this form of particularly punitive treatment are scattered across the country, from the European part of Russia to the Arctic Circle and the Far East.

But no such move seemed to have taken place by December. Mr Navalny suggested in social media posts that the reason for this was that investigators were unwilling to travel to remote locations to pursue further cases against him.

The IK-6 penal colony (AFP/Getty)

Mr Navalny was due to meet his defence team on 6 December in Kovrov, 162 miles northeast of Moscow. His lawyers waited for hours but were denied access. The same scenario played out over the next two days.

Mr Navalny was also due to appear at several court hearings around that time to answer the fresh tranche of charges. The prison authorities failed to produce him. The judge in one of the courts due to hear the case, Oktyabrsky in Vladimir region, suspended the hearings until the defendant’s “location is established”.

Vyacheslav Gimadi, a lawyer for Mr Navalny, pointed out that “there are no such grounds in the law to act in that fashion”.

“Instead of asking the Federal Penitentiary Service to ensure the plaintiff’s turnout, the court just wrote off the hearings for an indefinite period,” he said.

The Federal Penitentiary Service produced a certificate to Mr Navalny’s lawyers saying that their client was not in the penal colony IK-6, where he was last recorded to have been held. Mr Navalny’s lawyers sent requests for help to no fewer than 200 pre-trial detention centres in the search for him, without any joy.

It wasn’t until Monday that his spokesperson revealed he had been tracked to Polar Wolf, where temperatures plunge as low as -28C. It was founded in the Sixties, as part of the Soviet Gulag forced labour camps.

A spokesperson for the government told The Independent: “We have been clear that the continued imprisonment of Alexei Navalny on politically-motivated grounds further demonstrates the Russian state’s contempt for freedom of speech and international human rights obligations. Russia should immediately release him.”

David Lammy MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: “Alexei Navalny’s continued imprisonment is completely unjustified and an attack on the rights of the Russian people. He should be released immediately. His detention is a cruel emblem of Putin’s fear of criticism and dissent amid his illegal and barbaric war in Ukraine.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment