Between January 2020 and April 2026, the Crystal Africa had at least 346 likely transshipment meetings. Its most frequent partners include Vladimir Starzhinsky, Mekhanik Kovtun, Mys Lovtsova, Mys Kruzenshterna, and Petr Ilyin.

Transshipment occurs when fishing vessels offload their catch to a refrigerated carrier that transports it to port, rather than the vessel going itself. Reefers can haul catch from multiple fishing vessels at once, which makes supply chain tracing difficult.