Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09VLADIVOSTOK30
2009-03-02 05:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Vladivostok
Cable title:  

CAPTAIN OF SUNK CHINESE VESSEL IN HOSPITAL, AWAITING

Tags:  PREL ECON RS 
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R 020537Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1096
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000030 


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON RS
SUBJECT: CAPTAIN OF SUNK CHINESE VESSEL IN HOSPITAL, AWAITING
PROSECUTION

UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000030


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON RS
SUBJECT: CAPTAIN OF SUNK CHINESE VESSEL IN HOSPITAL, AWAITING
PROSECUTION


1. Russian Border Guard Patrol boats on February 19 fired upon
a Chinese cargo vessel making an unauthorized departure from the
Far East Russian port of Nakhodka. The ship, which was involved
in a trade dispute with a local company, was damaged and sank
when caught in rough weather. Border Guards rescued three of the
ten sailors who had escaped the sinking ship, but the rest --
Chinese and Indonesian -- were lost at sea and are presumed
drowned. The rescued crewmembers have left Russia, but the
captain of the ship, who has been at a local hospital since the
incident, will be detained during the investigation of the
incident and may face up to two years in prison.


2. The New Star vessel, owned by the Chinese shipping company
Zhejiang, was contracted to deliver rice to Nakhodka on January

29. The recipient, Russian rice and fruit importer
Prodporgramma-Impuls (Novosibirsk),refused to accept the
shipment, stating that 400 tons of the 5,000-ton rice shipment
was damaged and unusable. The company was planning to file a
claim in a local court for compensation in the amount of 12.3
million rubles (USD 410,000) for the rice, asserting that that
the ship was in bad shape and that the shipping company was
negligent.


3. In response, the head of the Zhejiang Shipping Company
ordered the New Star captain to flee the port -- presumably
because he did not think there was a chance of winning the case.
The ship left port before receiving documents authorizing it to
set sail, thereby prompting the chase. A contact told the
Consulate that it is quite common for detained ships to escape
from port successfully -- usually the Border Guards do not send
ships to pursue. The fact that ships took the unusual step of
pursuing the escaping boat, he said, could indicate some
"business ties" (either established or 'temporary') between the
company and the border authorities. The contact further stated
that the contracting company's plans to take the case to the
Primorskiy Kray Arbitration Court instead of the International
Arbitration court may indicate the Russian company hoped to
receive the confiscated ship -- built only three years ago -- as
compensation.


4. Both the shipping company and the contractor have been
accused of impropriety in the past. Progdrogramm-Impuls was
involved in a similar, perhaps fraudulent, case last year.
After making a claim for damaged and unusable rice from a
different shipper, the company received USD 200,000 from the
Ingosstrakh insurance company and USD 580,000 from the shipper.
Local media have reported that the shipping company faced
criminal charges last year when an illegal shipment of mercury
was found onboard at the Ukrainian port of Feodosia.


5. The captain of the ship has filed an appeal to the
Vladivostok representative of the International Transportation
Federation (ITF) to help obtain compensation for the surviving
crewmembers. The ITF stated it intends to conduct consultations
with Russian colleagues on how to best assist the captain and
his crew, and is demanding a fair investigation of the case.

ARMBRUSTER