By Jean Christou
RUSSIAN authorities have been accused of illegally detaining six Cypriot reefer ships belonging to the financially troubled Vostoktransflot shipping firm, the shipping paper Lloyds Listhas reported.
The Merchant Shipping Department said yesterday it had no information regarding the detentions beyond what had been reported by Lloyds.
Senior surveyor Captain Andreas Constantinou said the Cyprus government can could intervene at the request of the shipowners.
“They should initiate the action on behalf of the flag state,” he told the Cyprus Mailyesterday. “We cannot enter the dispute unless they ask us to.”
Vostoktransflot is Russia’s second largest shipping company.
According to Lloyds List, no adequate explanation has been given as to why the ships were detained, but the paper adds that evidence has come to light that the Russian authorities intend to impose the Russian flag on the vessels and replace the crew of the Cypriot ships with their own nationals.
The paper also said that a Vostoktransflot employee was feared murdered after an attempt to free the vessels.
Lloyds
obtained a company of a letter sent earlier this month to the governor of St Petersburg from his Primorsk counterpart, describing the reefer ships as “being saved for our (Russian) region”.
“Keeping in mind arrangements for returning of six rescued vessels back under the Russian flag your are kindly requested to render assistance in this respect,” the letter said. “It is necessary that the change of former (Cyprus) crews to Russian ones is to be arranged under the supervision of the law-enforcing bodies of your city.”
The dispute was brought into the open by a consortium of international lenders, which have provided loan facilities of $23 million to Vostoktransflot. “The loans are now in default,” Lloyds Listsaid, and the Russian authorities have been frustrating the owners’ rights to sell the vessels to repay its debts.
The paper adds that the confiscations jeopardise the support of the international finance community, which is critical for the rejuvenation of the Russian shipping fleet.
