Foreign vessel arrested in Odesa for delaying cargo delivery

A court in Odesa has arrested a Comoros-flagged vessel in the port of Chornomorsk for delaying the delivery of cargo. The charterers claim that they suffered losses of more than $67,000 due to the vessel's delay.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Commercial Court of Odesa Region.

The decision was made in favor of Odesa-based companies Alfa-Grant and Alfa Lux, which claimed significant financial losses due to breach of the charter agreement.

According to the court, on November 26, 2025, the companies and the owner of the vessel DYNAMIC SHIPPING CORP and the manager of the vessel GOLD KAYA SHIPPING LTD. entered into a charter agreement. The vessel was to transport more than 4.7 thousand tons of cargo, including grouting cement for JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya, gypsum mixtures, salt and insulation material. The port of loading is Bartin (Turkey), and the port of discharge is Odesa, Chornomorsk or Pivdennyi port at the charterer's choice.

As it turned out, the master of the vessel issued bills of lading for different consignments: part of the consignment was for one company, part for another. The expected date of arrival at the port was December 12, 2025.

However, the ship was delayed: On December 12-13, the ship received instructions from the Coordination Center and was supposed to move to the port, but its speed was less than the permissible one, and on the night of December 12-13, the ship did not move along the corridor to Sulina and "created unexplained evolutions" near the Odesa roadstead. Only on December 13 in the evening did the vessel start moving and return to Sulina.

The applicants noted that the schedule violation caused them financial losses, as they were forced to apply to port authorities to obtain permits for unloading, and alternative ports were hampered by Russian shelling: the M-15 Odesa-Reni highway was blocked due to the partial destruction of the bridge. This made it impossible to deliver urgent cargo to customers.

As the applicants emphasized, the companies' losses during the delay amounted to USD 67.7 thousand.

The companies filed a lawsuit demanding that the vessel be arrested. The court found their claim to be justified and ruled to satisfy the application, arrest the GOLD LUCKY, and give the companies 30 days to provide evidence to support the claim against the debtors: DYNAMIC SHIPPING CORP (Marshall Islands) and GOLD KAYA SHIPPING LTD (Turkey).

In December last year, law enforcement officers detained a Russian bulk carrier in the Odesa seaport that was used to illegally export Ukrainian agricultural products through the temporarily occupied Crimea. The investigation found that the ship regularly called at closed Crimean ports, violating Ukrainian law and international shipping rules.

Анна Бальчінос