May 13, 2014 General Security Office’s Information Report
Information Report Confidential
Issuance Number: 869/ [illegible] Date: May 13, 2014
Source of Information: Personal verification
Degree of accuracy: Definite
RE: information about the situation of the ship “Rhosus”
On November 21, 2013, a commercial ship, the “Rhosus”, entered Beirut port, flying the Moldavan flag and affiliated with the National Trading and Shipping Agency, with onboard [illegible] seafarers, including 9 Ukrainian nationals and a Russian captain.
On December 3, 2013, 5 seafarers were evacuated and on December 12, 2014, a seafarer was evacuated. 4 seafarers remained onboard of the ship.
The ship was impounded provisionally pursuant to the decision no 1031/2013, dated December 19, 2013, issued by the Enforcement Department in Beirut, which banned the ship from leaving the port until further notice for financial reasons and debts amounting USD [illegible] in addition to debts amounting USD [illegible] due to Bunkernet LTD, represented by lawyers Samir and Jean Baroudi. The decision came after the cargo of the ship was unloaded in Beirut Port and 2,755.500 tons of high-density Ammonium Nitrate, IMO 5.1, which was in transit and shipped from Batumi Port, Georgia to Beira Port in Mozambique for “Banco International de De Mocambique”, noting that [ammonium nitrate] is an extremely hazardous substance.
[illegible] the ship crew is in dire humanitarian situation summarized in the following:
- The crew has not received their wages since before the ship entered Lebanon.
- The ship owner is refusing to appoint a new crew onboard of the ship or to evacuate the crew already onboard.
- The captain of the ship, a Russian national, did not get any authorization to visit the city after the ship entered the port (decision of the director general of general security according to communication document no 3349 dated September 7, 2013. A dispute occurred between him and the remaining members of the crew who are Ukrainian nationals. The dispute, solved quickly in coordination with a delegate from the Ukrainian embassy, might lead to other problems onboard the ship in the future because of the psychological situation of the captain.
- The Ukrainian consul asked the maritime agent to evacuate the Ukrainian seafarers because of this dire situation but he refused because the owner did not accept. The instructions include the necessity to maintain a staff composed of 5 persons minimum onboard of the ship, thus it became impossible to evacuate any seafarer or the captain until substitutes are appointed.
- The ship crew live in dire conditions since the ship is not supplied by food with the exception of [illegible] that does not exceed USD 30 for each food ration (twice only during last month). The seafarers gathered copper material and sold it to afford making phone calls.
- The maritime agent, Mustafa Baghdadi argues that he has debts amounting USD [illegible] (Port fees, berthing, equipment to unload the cargo he brought at the owners request, treatment, and medication). He contacted previously Abdel Hafiz al-Kaissi, Director-General of Land and Maritime Transport to consult the Lebanese State Council in this regard.
- The ship is still berthed at the port breakwater as of the date of the preparation of the present report.