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  • 2007 April 6

    Tug-of-berth

    A berth for transshipment of oil products in the port of St. Petersburg has been out of operation for almost three weeks already. The loss of the stevedoring company exceeds $300 thou. Prohibition on mooring has been issued by the office of the Port Captain in contravention of a corresponding arbitrage ruling. It served private company as a ground for application to the prosecutor’s office to initiate a criminal case against Anatoli Mykharov, acting Captain of the port of St. Petersburg.

     

    Legitimate agreement

    It is not for the first time that berth No 94 (so called BBRD berth as it is under economic management of Baltic Basin Response Department FSUE) of the port of St. Petersburg falls under mass media close attention. Different state and private entities try to hinder the activities of stevedoring company Delta Service LLC. In 2006, total turnover of oil products handled at the berth amounted to 456 thou tons. Besides the company’s own bunker Delta Service is engaged in transshipment of fuel owned by other companies such as Baltic Bunker Company LLC, ECO Phoenix Holding OJSC, LUKOIL-Neva LLC etc.

     

    The agreement of lease was signed between Delta Service and the owner of the berth – state in the person of the St. Petersburg Property Management Committee. It was concluded in 2005 for 10 years. The document was signed by the head of BBRD, who had no objections against the activities of the stevedoring company. Later in 2006 BBRD management asked the court to invalidate the agreement. In February 2007 Arbitrage Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region ruled that the lessee’s right for the berth is legitimate. Thus, Delta Service won the first round in its struggle for the berth No 94. PortNews IAA failed to get any comments at BBRD on its intent to impeach the court’s ruling.

     

    Activities terminated

    Nevertheless, in March 2007 the activities of Delta Service were terminated. The office of the Port Captain prohibited mooring and handling activities. The Captain distrusted legitimacy of a provisional oil spill response plan (OSR is one of major documents enabling the company to handle hazardous cargo in the port), obtained by the company from the Emergency Ministry. However, St. Petersburg branch of the Emergency Ministry confirmed legitimacy of the plan provided to Delta Service for the period till April 2007. Besides, on March, 30, the company registered a long-term OSR plan (till 2010). It was signed by Major General L. Belyayev, the head of the Emergency Ministry’s St. Petersburg headquarters and by Alexander Obukhovski, head of RosPrirodNadzor’s Administration in the North-West Federal District. The document only needs to be signed by Peotr Parinov, head of Administration of St. Petersburg Seaport, though this signature is not the key one. Delta Service has also provided a copy of the Emergency Ministry’s conclusion on state expertise of OSR plan.

     

    Being is in danger of nonfulfillment of bunker supply contracts, Delta Service asked the court to invalidate the activities of the Captain and the Administration of St. Petersburg Seaport.
    On March 30, 2007, Arbitrage Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region having considered the facts of the case No А56-8061/2007 rendered its decision: “To suspend the ban of the Captain of St. Petersburg Seaport on mooring and handling operation at the berth No 94 being in long-term lease of Delta-Service LLC till the decision is rendered by the Arbitrage Court”.

     

    Prosecutor’s office involved

    The court’s ruling has not been executed. Now the Captain’s office challenges another document – declaration on the state of the hydraulic structure. This document was issued by BBRD on the grounds of examination held by the experts of LenmorNIIproject OJSC on May 17, 2006. According to the document new examination should be held in May 2009. Thus, Delta Service does not accept the decision of the Captain’s office. The company applied to the prosecutor’s office of the Kirov District of St. Petersburg, to St. Petersburg transport prosecutor’s office and to Linear Department of Internal Affairs (LDIA) at Sea and River Transport of North-West DIA of RF Ministry of Internal Affairs to initiate a criminal case on abuse of position against Anatoli Mykharov, acting Captain of the port of St. Petersburg.

     

    “All the measures undertaken by the port’s Administration in respect of our berth are considered by us as the intent of RosMorRechFlot to block the activities of the port’s largest Bunker Company,” Alexander Sobolev told PortNews IAA. “We are ready to provide the court with all available document in order to assert our rights for operation in the port. Unfortunately, under these circumstances we had to initiate a criminal case against the Captain of the Port. However, we respect general activities of the port's Administration and we understand it is not their initiative. I suppose some entities being ruled from Moscow are interested in our berth.”

     

    Other claimants

    As PortNews IAA told earlier, the interest in the berth No 94 was expressed by Oslo Marine Group, which had built the Onega terminal for acceptance of rolling equipment at the land plot located close to that of BBRD. Onega does not have any sea berth, which hinders the group’s plans as regards development of its stevedoring business. There are no other claimants for the lease of the berth No 94.

     

    Comment

    of Vitali Kovalev, president of Russian Association of Sea and River Bunker Suppliers:

     

    - Legal advisory committee of our Association has provided the following conclusion on the situation:

     

    As regards provisional plan

     

    For the purpose of oil spill prevention and response all the organization engaged in activities related to oil exploration, production, refinery processing, transportation and storage (regardless the form of ownership) are obliged to develop their OSR plans. According to cl. 13 of the Decree No 621 dated 28.12.2004 of the RF Emergency Ministry, when arranging seasonal, regular or one-time works implying possible emergency situations such organizations should develop corresponding OSR plans. Considering specific features of such works the Ministry is entitled to determine a simplified procedure for approval of such plans.

    Thus, on the grounds of the cl. 13 of the Decree No 621 dated 28.12.2004 of the RF Emergency Ministry, OSR plan comes into effect immediately after it is approved by the Emergency Ministry.

     

    As regards long-term plan

    Decree No 621 dated 28.12.2004 “On approval of the rules for development and coordination of OSR plans to be applied in RF” was developed by the RF Emergency Ministry. It specifies the procedure for coordination and approval of OSR plans. As for the case with Delta Service, the conclusion of the RF Emergency Ministry’s expertise was positive, the plan was approved and put into force. Thus, Administration of St. Petersburg Seaport is not entitled to block the activities of Delta Service.

     

     

    As regards declaration and technical state.

     

    RF Ministry of Transport acknowledged the berth to be ready for operation within three years till May 2009. RosTransNadzor, being the only controlling organization responsible for supervision, issued a permit for the berth operation. Besides, the personnel of Administration of St. Petersburg Seaport have now skills or possibilities to carry out correct examination without any controlling organization or without special activities provisioned for determination of a state of any hydraulic structure. Visual examination is not enough for lawful measures on termination of a declaration.

     

     

    Nadezhda Malysheva

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