November 26, 2014 Letter from Directorate of Land and Maritime Transport to Case Authority

Republic of Lebanon

Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Directorate General of Land & Maritime Transport

6/8435

November 26, 2014

To: Ministry of Justice – Case Authority

Re: Request to take the necessary action to sell the “Rhosus” docked in Beirut Port and its cargo at auction in an immediate and prompt manner

Reference: 

• Our letter no: 6/2832 dated April 8, 2014 and its annexes
• Our letter no: 6/3178 dated April 14, 2014 and its annexes
• Our letter no: 6/4431 dated June 2, 2014 and its annexes
• The case file

As per the above-mentioned subject and references, and further to our letters no 6/2832 dated April 8, 2014 and no: 6/3178 dated April 14, 2014 requesting to expedite the adjudication of the case of “Rhosus” docked in Beirut Port,

Whereas the urgent matters judge in Beirut issued the decision 429/2014 dated June 27, 2014 in which he ruled to authorize the Ministry of Public Works and Transport – the Directorate General of Land and Maritime Transport to refloat the “Rhosus” and to move the merchandise on board to an appropriate place to store it under its custody,

Whereas the Head of Beirut Port stated in his reference no: 1020/b dated October 27, 2014 that the hazardous material (Ammonium nitrates) onboard of the ship was unloaded in Hangar 12 affiliated to the ‘Compagnie d’Exploitation et de Gestion du Port de Beyrouth’ (CEGPB), and that the unloading of the material was done by the CEGPB, the Lebanese Company for Unloading, and the contractor Stevadoria, which resulted in fees and wages to all the aforementioned [entities] that are still not paid until today, in addition to merchandise storing fees incurred daily to the CEGPB,

Whereas the ship is worn out because it is corroded to rust and suffers from many flaws, notably a fissure in the forepeak and both ballast water tanks, and these flaws are becoming worse with time, and as winter approaches, the ship is at risk of sinking, especially that the maritime agent is not taking any measures to repair the flaws, arguing that the shipowners and equippers abandoned it and are not paying for the repairs, which jeopardize the safety of the maritime navigation in the port and the safety of the marine ecosystem,

And in the interest of the safety of the maritime navigation in the port and the public safety, and of the rights of the rights holders on the ship and merchandise,

We respectfully inform you about this issue and ask you to instruct the Enforcement Department in Beirut to announce rapidly selling the ship and the merchandise in auction, to avoid its sinking in the port due to the rust, and therefore avoid jeopardizing the safety of the maritime navigation, the public safety and the safety of the environment.

Eng. Abdel Hafiz al-Kaissi

Director-General of Land and Maritime Transport

A copy of the whole file is hereto attached.

Translated by Human Rights Watch