A SYRIAN ship which Ukraine says is carrying grain stolen by invading Russians left Lebanon en route to Syria, a Lebanese minister said.

The 12,744-dwt bulker Laodicea had docked in Lebanon's Tripoli port with some 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that Kiev said was plundered from Ukrainian stores.

A Lebanese judge had issued a 72-hour seizure order, but it was lifted. A release order issued by the Tripoli port said the ship would be allowed to leave "in accordance with Lebanese law".

Lebanon's Transport Minister Ali Hamie told Reuters that the ship had sailed. MarineTraffic shipping data showed it off the Syrian coast near Tartus.

The Laodicea is one of three Syrian-owned ships sanctioned since 2015 by the United States for their alleged role in the conflict raging in Syria over the last decade.

Those same three ships have been accused by the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut of regularly transporting stolen grain to Syria since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Syrian officials have not responded to multiple requests for comment on the ships' sanctioning and on their role in the transport of alleged stolen grain.

Russia denies stealing Ukrainian grain. Its embassy in Lebanon said it had no information on the cargo.