The court continues to consider the case regarding pollution in the waters of the port of Chornomorsk

The Odesa court has extended the detention of the shipowner. She is accused of the accident of the bunker tanker, which sank in the port and caused a fuel oil leak.

This is stated in the ruling of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa, writes Intent.  

At the end of July, the prosecutor’s office sent a petition to the court to extend the detention of the director of the private enterprise Frog Agroservice.

According to the investigation, in June 2021, the State Enterprise Sea Commercial Port Chornomorsk and Frog Agroservice concluded a purchase and sale agreement for the bunker tanker Mars, as well as an additional agreement for the spent more than 10 tons of fuel and lubricants that were on board the vessel. In October, the bunker tanker was transferred to the director of the private enterprise.

The investigation established that at the time of the vessel’s transfer, the watch service on board was not organized. At the same time, the port director sent letters demanding to ensure the safety of the berth. But despite everything, the shipowner did not take measures to maintain the vessel and organize a watch, which created a risk of flooding and pollution of the waters of the port of Chornomorsk.

In February 2023, the captain of the Chornomorsk port issued an order obliging the company to remove the vessel due to its emergency condition. But in January 2024, the bunker tanker “Mars” sank when listing to port. During the accident, 1.2 tons of fuel oil entered the water, which caused damage of more than 422 thousand US dollars.

The investigation also established that the suspect repeatedly changed her testimony, submitted documents with delay and may hinder criminal proceedings.

The court partially satisfied the prosecutor’s office’s motion and extended the suspect’s detention until September 5, 2025 inclusive. The amount of the bail was set at 8 million 327 thousand UAH.

We will remind, the shipowners were incriminated with pollution of the sea within the internal sea waters of Ukraine with substances harmful to the life and health of people and abuse of authority.

USM also previously reported that the arrested bunker tanker “Mars” was planned to be sold at auction with a starting price of 1,992,392 UAH. However, the auction did not take place, as of March 2025, the vessel has not yet been sold even at a reduced price.