Georgia releases captain of Turkish tanker detained en route to Abkhazia
Published: 08 September, 2009, 20:39
Edited: 15 March, 2010, 21:51
TAGS: Breakaway regions, Scandal, Georgia, Middle East, Politics, Piracy
The Court of Appeals in the town of Kutaisi releases the captain of the Turkish tanker Buket who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for violating Georgia’s rules on sailing into “occupied territories” near Abkhazia.
By overturning an earlier verdict of August 31 handed down to Turkish citizen CoÅŸkun Mehmet Öztürk with a conditional three-year imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 Lari ($18,000), the court has approved a procedural agreement between Öztürk and the Prosecutor’s Office, RIA Novosti reports.
Further, the court has ordered the ship to be turned over to the Georgian state, while 16 members of its crew of 17 were released after a fine of 3,000 Lari ($1,800) for each is paid.
The Panamanian-flagged Turkish tanker, Buket, was en route from Turkey to Abkhazia carrying 2,000 tons of diesel oil when detained in the Black Sea by the Georgian coast guard. Four of its crew were Azeri nationals, the rest – Turkish.
Georgia insisted it had detained the vessel in its territorial waters. However, according to the Turkish ship’s owner, Densa Tanker Ä°ÅŸletmeciliÄŸine, Buket was apprehended in international waters, 96 nautical miles off the Turkish port of Sinop.
Reacting to the incident, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned Georgia’s actions and demanded Tbilisi put an end to such behavior in international waters.
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In such a case, ship owners can sue in Turkey for the damages, and have Turkish courts freeze Georgian assets until the reparation is made to compensate the owner. Separately, Turkish captain and the crew, as well as Azeri crew can sue Georgia in Turkish and Azerbaijan courts for the damages, requesting again that Geogian assets are frozen until the reparations are paid. It is really very simple under the international law of the sea. Georgia cannot, in spite of its claim of sovereignity, detain commercial ships in open or terrritorial waters . It cannot even ask for the ships to ask for the permission to sail within territorial waters. Shipping as we know it would be severly impeded should any country choose to require all merchant marine to ask for permission. Georgia is testing the waters by boarding the ships on the pretext of checking for illicit cargo, but then confiscating ship and the legal cargo, and detaining and fining the crew. However, it is quite possible that the Turkey and Azerbaijan will choose not to protect their private property and their citizens, as such legal action would infuriate the governments that are advising Georgia.
I was not sure from the articles if Georgia was seizing the Turkish ships in open waters or in Abkhazian waters (per Georgia, "their" territory). I had thought maybe the freighters were going too close to Georgian territory to get to Abkhazia. If the ships were seized in international waters, then I agree the Turks have a case for a lawsuit. That 24-year sentence against a third party was the kind of silliness I would expect from North Korea. Seems Georgia is getting desperate.