Authorities are weighing criminal allegations in Greece and Bulgaria over the arrest of a tanker as Libyan owner General National Maritime Transport Co (GNMTC) intensifies efforts to secure its release.
The 116,000-dwt Badr (built 2008) was detained in November at the Bulgarian port of Burgas and has been engulfed in a “fake mortgage” legal battle for the past seven months.
Omar Algawashi, president of the Libyan Ports and Maritime Transport Authority, has told the Joint War Committee of the Lloyd’s Market Association that the Bulgarian prosecutor general has ordered a criminal investigation into the ship’s detention. The targets in this probe include the Bulgarian Executive Agency for Maritime Administration, according to a copy of the letter obtained by TradeWinds. Alexandar Iliev, the director of the maritime administration, declined to comment on Algawashi's claims.
Additionally, Greek notary Ioanna Andreadakis has lodged a criminal complaint of her own in Athens on allegations of mortgage fraud, Algawashi wrote.
“It is the firm belief of owners that elements of [Burgas] port authority, the Bulgarian judiciary, and other Bulgarian officials have been compromised and/or have been intimidated by adversaries such that they are in fear of performing their proper duties,” Algawashi wrote.
“Accordingly, the owners have lost faith in the various Bulgarian public institutions, which appear to have been infiltrated by organised crime.”
GNMTC, which is controlled by the Libyan government, has drawn comfort from the Joint War Committee putting pressure on leading industry and political figures to find a resolution. The owner is also seeking the backing of Interpol to ensure the release of the Badr.
The tanker was detained in Burgas by a party called Bulgargeomin, which claimed to have a $9.23m mortgage on the vessel that had fallen into default.
But Andreadakis has told Libyan authorities that mortgage documents purporting to have her seal and signature are “false and forged”. Although she said she executed a power of attorney matching the number on the documents, it had nothing to do with Bulgargeomin.
“They have no validity at all, under Greek or any other law,” she said of the mortgage documents, according to a January email provided to TradeWinds.
Andreadakis said she has filed a criminal lawsuit with the Athens district attorney against Georgios Lapas, whom she suspected of committing the forgery.
Greek prosecutors have yet to determine whether they will pursue criminal proceedings.
TradeWinds’ efforts to identify and contact Lapas for this story were not immediately successful.
Efforts to reach Bulgargeomin to respond to the allegations were also not successful. However, TradeWinds understands that it denies the mortgage fraud allegations.
Bulgargeomin’s website describes it as a formerly state-owned company that was privatised in 2013 and that focuses on “geological prospecting, extraction, processing and sales of mineral and non-mineral raw materials and mineral fuels”. Phone numbers and email addresses listed on the website are not functional.
Records provided to TradeWinds show that Bulgargeomin sought to register the mortgage in Libya.
The reasons for the Badr’s continued detention remain unclear.
Several months ago, Burgas’ appeals court ordered the ship to be freed after ruling the loan was fake. But a second court quickly produced an arrest order and the tanker remains in port.
Since TradeWinds first reported on the dispute in February, GNMTC has prevented the tanker from being sold at a local auction. Bulgargeomin was the only bidder, with an offer of $10m, well below half the Badr’s market value.
Mohamed Elahresh, GNMTC’s claims handler who has been leading efforts to get the ship freed, said: “I’m just feeling there is no justice in the world. The weak situation that my country is going through is not an excuse for thieves and criminals to do this.”
He wrote to the Joint War Committee for support, claiming there was “a serious risk that the vessel will be lost through prolonged detainment”.
In what GNMTC sees as a significant victory, a reply was received copying in the Bulgarian ambassador in London, the country’s permanent representative to the IMO in London, the head of the shipping chamber in Bulgaria and the national maritime authority.
'We won't give up'
Despite the complexity of the case, Elahresh says GNMTC will not give up on the ship. “We incurred a loss of $7m. We are ready to incur $7m more and $7m more,” he told TradeWinds.
“It is a matter of principle. We will not negotiate. It is impossible. That is out of the question. If you lose this, lose yourself as a company, you lose your reputation, you become exposed more and more.
“If you win this, despite the cost, this will be a letter to everyone that we will not kneel and bend over to fraudsters and criminals.”
