Court order granted to keep captain of US seized oil tanker in Scotland

The wife of the captain of a seized oil tanker has won a court order preventing UK authorities from allowing her husband to be removed from Scotland without legal oversight.

Judge Lord Young passed an interim interdict on Monday evening, which prevents UK and Scottish authorities from removing Avtandil Kalandadze from Scotland pending further court proceedings.

Lawyers instructed by his wife, Natia, allege that the Georgian citizen may be being unlawfully detained without charge. She has instructed them to raise an action in the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest civil court.

Mr Kalandadze is the captain of a vessel called Marinera, which was seized by US authorities in the North Atlantic earlier this month. The United States has accused the vessel of breaching economic sanctions by carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran.

The ship, previously known as Bella 1, was boarded south of Iceland and is now in the Moray Firth. A US Coast Guard vessel involved in the operation is understood to be in Scottish waters.

Legal papers lodged in the case state that Mrs Kalandadze is concerned about her husband’s safety.

Her lawyers argue that the US government is attempting to bypass established extradition processes to take him to America, and that this would breach his human rights.

They have asked the Scottish court to judicially review the circumstances surrounding Mr Kalandadze’s detention and that of other crew members.

Solicitor Aamer Anwar instructed Claire Mitchell KC to seek an interim interdict preventing the captain’s removal from the United Kingdom.

Lord Young heard urgent legal submissions from Ms Mitchell and agreed to grant the interim interdict in a restricted form.

The court heard that 26 of the 28 members of the crew had been removed from the vessel and were in Inverness being assessed by UK immigration officials.

It was also said that the whereabouts of Mr Kalandadze and one other crew member could not be definitively confirmed.

The court heard Christopher Pirie KC, for the UK Government, say that he understood the captain may have been transferred to a US Coast Guard vessel involved in the seizure of the Marinera.

The court was told that this vessel may be leaving UK territorial waters sometime in the near future.

Ms Mitchell told the court that the rights of the captain and his colleagues under Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights – covering liberty and fair process – were potentially engaged.

Granting the interim interdict, Lord Young said he could not make the order against the US government or the President of the United States, due to legislation governing the relationship between UK courts and foreign states.

He said: “I am going to grant an interim interdict, but in a restricted form.

“From a prima facie point of view, I accept that the rights of the crew members are potentially engaged.

“There is a lack of clarity about their precise status. On the basis that 26 of them are under the control of the UK or Scottish authorities, there is a clear basis to direct the interim interdict against the Advocate General, the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Ministers.

“There remains uncertainty about the whereabouts of the other two crew members.

“I do not have power to grant an interdict against either the US government or the President of the United States.”

The interdict prohibits the respondents – the Advocate General, the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Ministers – or anyone acting on their behalf from removing the captain or crew of the Marinera, formerly the Bella 1, from the territorial jurisdiction of the Scottish courts.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed earlier this month that it provided operational support to the US operation, with UK military assets assisting American personnel. At the time, the MOD said that “deterring, disrupting and degrading” Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” was a priority.

The Marinera remains anchored off Burghead on the Moray coast.

Legal papers lodged on behalf of Mrs Kalandadze state that she believes her husband may be being unlawfully detained within the jurisdiction of the Court of Session.

They say she is “reasonably concerned about her husband’s safety and security aboard the ship” and is seeking the court’s intervention to “vindicate the legal rights” of her husband and others aboard.

Her lawyers argue that Mr Kalandadze has been prevented from accessing the courts and is therefore unable to vindicate his rights himself.

Ms Mitchell told the court that the circumstances surrounding the seizure raised serious concerns under Articles 5 and 6 of the ECHR.

She said: “All that we are asking for is an order to ensure that we can ascertain whether or not these people’s fundamental rights are being breached.

“These people have basic human rights which must be vindicated.

“If people have been brought to Scotland, they are entitled to the protection of the Scottish courts.

“It cannot be that a foreign state is able to bring people into this country, hold them for an indefinite period of time, and then simply remove them again.

“We cannot simply allow a foreign government to leave with those people on board.”

Mr Pirie told the court that the UK Government was unable to definitively confirm Mr Kalandadze’s location.

He said: “The UK government is not able to confirm his location.

“The information provided to us is that he has been transferred to a US Coast Guard vessel, which is planning to depart.”

Last night, Mrs Kalandadze’s solicitor, Aamer Anwar, issued a statement explaining why the legal action had been taken.

He said: “The captain is being prevented from accessing the Scottish courts and is therefore unable to defend his rights himself under Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“We understand that following the lodging of a petition for judicial review, the captain and his deputy may have been removed from the ship along with 26 other crew members.”

Mr Anwar said papers were being served on the Lord Advocate, the Advocate General, Scottish Ministers and the President of the United States.

He added: “The captain’s wife believes it cannot be right in a civilised society to remove a crew from Scotland with the assistance of UK authorities without observing our laws.

“Today we sought an emergency order to prevent the removal of the ship, captain and crew before a full hearing takes place in the coming days.”