The Odessa office of Ilyashev & Partners has successfully represented Challenging Shipping Ltd. in its appeal of a decision of the State Ecological Inspection of Ukraine imposing an administrative penalty onto the captain of one of its ships, New Challenge, for contaminating the harbor waters in the Mykolayiv seaport.
According to Ilyashev & Partners, the case involved a July 12, 2020 event in which, "when unloading a 12-ton forklift from m/v New Challenge, a forklift fell on the berth from a height of four meters due to a breakage of the rope on a ship’s crane hook, which resulted in a significant damage to the berth and a pipeline of the neighboring oil terminal. As a result, about ten tons of sunflower oil spilled on the berth, some of which got into the port water area." Administrative sanctions were levied against the captain of New Challenge for causing the pollution, and the shipowner was fined over UAH 5 million. According to the firm, "the total amount of claims against the vessel amounted to about UAH 13.5 million."
According to Ilyashev & Partners, the "Zavodskyi district court of Mykolayiv, acting as the first instance administrative court, acceded to the legal position of the attorneys, which was based on demonstrating the essential discrepancy between the inspector’s conclusions provided in the disputed decision and factual circumstances of the case, and also on numerous procedural violations during the completion of the materials and consideration of the administrative offence case."
"As a result," the firm reports, "the court [refused] to reverse the unlawful decision of the inspector of the State Ecological Inspection and discontinue the proceeding on bringing the captain to administrative responsibility due to the absence of the event of the administrative offense in his actions. The decision of the court was not appealed and has come into legal force."
Several months ago, also acting on behalf of Challenge Shipping Ltd., Ilyashev & Partners secured the acceptance by Ukraine's State Ecological Inspection of a British protection and indemnity club's letter of undertaking as a sufficient security for the maritime claim (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 28, 2020).
