Georgia’s Maritime Transport Agency accuses opposition-leaning Formula TV of spreading disinformation over sanctions evasion

Georgia’s Maritime Transport Agency on Tuesday accused the opposition-leaning Formula TV of deliberately disseminating disinformation aimed at linking Georgia, its ports and maritime waters to alleged schemes to circumvent international sanctions.

In a statement, the agency said speculation had been circulated claiming that Georgia’s maritime waters, as well as the coastline of occupied Abkhazia, were being used to evade sanctions.

The agency stressed that in modern maritime navigation, the movement of large vessels, their entry into ports and ship-to-ship (STS) cargo transfers cannot simply be concealed by switching off a vessel’s Automatic Identification System (AIS).

“Such operations generate and involve a wide range of technical data, the combined analysis of which makes it possible to establish an accurate picture of events,” the agency said, adding that the absence of an AIS signal alone does not prove that a vessel entered a port or that sanctions were circumvented”, the statement said.

The Maritime Transport Agency also rejected Formula TV’s claims concerning an alleged covert operation involving large tankers in the ports of occupied Abkhazia, describing the allegations as speculative.

According to the agency, the Abkhaz coastline does not have the port infrastructure necessary for the safe reception and full servicing of large vessels of the size and type allegedly involved. It added that any ship-to-ship cargo transfer would necessarily require a second vessel, corresponding vessel movements and other related operational activity.

The agency emphasized that Georgia’s maritime transport system is a key pillar of the country’s international transit function and of the transport corridor connecting Europe and Asia, making its international reputation a matter of strategic national interest.

“The presentation by Formula TV of such allegations as established facts, based on isolated AIS data and incompetent interpretations; the unfounded association of Georgia with the circumvention of international sanctions; and the deliberate creation of suspicion towards the country’s ports and maritime transport system go beyond the bounds of an ordinary journalistic error and constitute an irresponsible and damaging information campaign directed against the state”, the Maritime Transport Agency said.