A handysize bulker held in France on suspicion of violating EU sanctions against Russia has been allowed to sail again, after a court there found no evidence to back up any such claim.
Judge Herve Perrussel didn’t just lift detention of the 38,600-dwt Pola Ariake (built 2019) but also condemned the French customs service to pay a hefty compensation to the ship’s registered owner and charterer.
Customs officers blocked the Pola Ariake at the Atlantic port of Lorient at the end of February, just a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The ship is listed under ownership of Russia’s State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK).
GTLK, however, isn't included in the extensive sanctions list announced by the European (EU), of which France is a member, in reaction to the invasion.
The judge, therefore, found no link between the ship and any sanctioned Russian entity, according to a ruling handed down on 18 March and obtained by TradeWinds.
Perrussel particularly dismissed the French customs’ argument that such a link existed through Vitaly Savelyev, a sanctioned Russian politician who was GTLK chairman in his role as Russia’s transport minister.
As TradeWinds reported, Savelyev resigned as GTLK chairman early in March.
Alongside lifting detention of the vessel, Perroussel ordered customs to pay €4,000 ($4,434) in compensation to the ship’s Hong Kong-based owner JTLK Asia M7 Ltd and its Cyprus-based charterer Avonburg Finance Ltd.
That fine, however, rose steeply after customs agency DNRED shrugged off the ruling and served a new arrest on 19 March to seize the Pola Ariake again, on a different legal basis.
Bertrand Coste, a lawyer for JTLK Asia and Avonburg Finance, immediately sued the French government. On 28 March, Perroussel ordered again that the ship's detention be lifted. On top of that, he slapped a €100,000 fine on customs, towards owners’ and charterers’ future damage claims.
The Pola Ariake, managed by Pola Maritime, immediately lifted anchor. Vessel trackers currently show it in international waters.
Other vessels still held by French authorities in similar circumstances in other parts of the country are the 8,831-gt Baltic Leader (built 2000) and the 8,200-dwt Victor Andryukhin (built 2021)
