French court justified russian ship commander accused of violating European sanctions

The commander of a russian vessel, the “Baltic Leader”, was acquitted on Thursday by the Rouen court of charges of violating European sanctions put in place following russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

The public prosecutor had requested a €16 million fine and a 10-month suspended prison sentence.

The French prosecution accused the captain of leaving the port of Rouen on February 25, 2022 with his ship, flying the russian flag and carrying wind turbines, in violation of a European regulation.

The vessel was detained the following day in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), a seizure lifted by the Douai Court of Appeal in December 2022.

At the hearing, discussions centered on whether the vessel was still owned by the russian company PSB Lizing (or Leasing), a 100% subsidiary of the russian bank Promsvyazbank, which has been placed under sanctions because of its links to the russian government.

The captain “knew very well that PSB Leasing was the owner of this vessel and he acted accordingly”, according to Pierre Jost, deputy public prosecutor in Rouen, which the captain disputed.

The sailor's lawyer, César Ghrenassia, argued that the boat belonged to another company, TransMorFlot, under a sales contract signed a few days before the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

The “doubt” about the ship's ownership should, in his view, “benefit the defendant”.

In a ruling dated December 15, 2022, the Douai Court of Appeal had already taken the position that TransMorFlot had owned the vessel since February 16, 2022, i.e. nine days before it was boarded.

The “Baltic Leader” was off the Indian coast on Thursday.

Source: Marine & Oceans