Moscow Court Fines Lebanese Firm $6Mln Over Military Ship Collision

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Moscow Arbitration Court recovered more than 365 million rubles ($6 million) in damage from the Lebanese company Hammami Livestock, which owns the Youzarsif H ship that collided with the Russian naval intelligence vessel Liman in 2017, causing it to sink.

The claim had been submitted by the Russian Defense Ministry. The legal proceedings in this case lasted almost five years. The court fully satisfied the ministry's claims. The defendant, duly notified of the trial, did not send a representative to the court, according to a Sputnik correspondent.

The plaintiff’s representative explained that, on the grounds of the international comity principles, claims were sent both to the defendant and the Dutch insurance company Raets Marine through the Russian defense ministry for several years, but there was no reply. The amount of the claim is calculated based on the cost of the rescue operation and liquidation of the consequences of the incident, as well as the cost of the lost property.

Naval intelligence vessel Liman of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was ruptured by a Togo-flagged livestock freighter in the Black Sea, 40 kilometers (24 miles) off the Bosphorus Strait. All sailors were rescued and returned to Russia by military transport aircraft.

The Russian crew demonstrated courage and competent actions when the ship received holes below the waterline in two compartments of the engine room and managed to keep the vessel afloat for almost three hours. All removable special equipment, documentation, weapons and ammunition were evacuated by the crew and delivered to the naval base, according to the ministry.

Youzarsif H cargo ship, at the time of the collision, was en route from Romania to Jordan, according to media reports.