June 2, 2014 Letter from the Directorate General of Land Maritime Transport to the Case Authority
Lebanese Republic
Ministry of Public Works and Transport
Directorate General of Land & Maritime Transport
Extremely Urgent
6/4431
June 2, 2014
To: Ministry of Justice – Case Authority
RE: Prioritization of selling the ship “Rhosus” docked in Beirut Port at auction to avoid the occurrence of a maritime disaster
Reference:
- our letters no 6/2832/6 dated April 8, 2014 and no 6/3178 dated April 14, 2014
- File of the ship “Rhosus”
Further to our two letters no 6/2832 dated April 8, 2014 and no 6/3178 dated April 14, 2014 hereto attached, and according to which we requested to speed-up the adjudication of the case of the Rhosus docked in Beirut Port, and carrying ammonium nitrate, a hazardous substance, that was provisionally impounded pursuant to decision no 1031/2013 dated December 20, 2014 by the Beirut Enforcement Department, and thus taking the necessary measures to sell the ship at auction and avoid the sinking of the ship due to the flaws that need to be repaired and which might jeopardize the safety of the maritime navigation and the marine ecosystem in Beirut port.
Whereas the case is now with the judge of urgent matters in Beirut after we received from “the National Trading and Shipping Agency”, the maritime agent, a copy hereto attached of a writ on petition to extradite the Rhosus crew that was submitted by the two lawyers representing the ship crew to the judge of urgent matters in Beirut. A copy of the Agency’s notes on the petition are hereto attached as per the request of the judge.
Whereas the presence of the ship became a major threat and it became impossible to keep it [in the port] given the hazardous material it is carrying, and since the ship is at risk of sinking which may cause the explosion of the ship that will lead to a maritime, humanitarian and environmental catastrophe at the port, especially with the presence onboard of the ship of a crew of 4 persons who are in a dire humanitarian situation and without wages. Furthermore, the maritime agent is not taking any measures to evacuate them and replace them pending the adjudication of the case of the ship, which has turned the crew into prisoners onboard of the ship at risk of sinking, and this is a risk to life and is in contravention of the relevant international laws.
Whereas the hazardous material carried by the ship increases the risks to public safety and since the flaws in the ship are becoming worse with time according to the findings of the inspection done by the inspection service affiliated with this administration. The report of the service stated that the ship suffers from several flaws, most notably a fissure in the forepeak and in both ballast water tanks, which put the ship ate risk of sinking. Therefore, the issue must be addressed as soon as possible to prevent the deterioration of the ship’s situation, notably the sinking of the ship, especially that the maritime agent is not taking any measures to repair these flaws claiming that the ship owners/ equippers are not paying for these repairs (our letter to the maritime agent is hereto attached).
We received by email a letter from “TETO Shipping LTD”, the charterer of the ship, requesting the authorization to extradite the ship crew without replacing it with a new one. The request cannot be accepted because it is in contravention of the relevant laws and regulations even though we empathize with the crew currently onboard who live in a risky situation which does not uphold the most basic human rights to live in a safe and secure environment, including livelihood requirements such as food and water.
Therefore, we respectfully ask to prioritize this request concerning the sale of the ship at auction as soon as possible to avoid the imminent catastrophe according to the abovementioned inputs and which threatens the public safety, notably the safety of life in addition to the safety of the maritime navigation and the marine ecosystem.
For your information,
Director General of Land & Maritime Transport
[signature]
Eng. Abdel Hafiz El-Kaissi
Copies of the following are hereto attached:
- Our letters no: 6/2832 dated April 8, 2014, and no 6/3178 dated April 14, 2014, and no 6/3179 dated April 14, 2014
- A writ on petition
- The notes of the maritime agent on the request