The Ukrainian-flagged Motor Vessel “RS300-97” is not under ownership, since it has been seized.
Abandoned since November 2016 in the port of Paleochora, the aged vessel, in which millions of packs of contraband cigarettes were found, began to sink from its right side on Monday.
According to information, the Ukrainian-flagged Motor Vessel “RS300-97” is not under ownership, since it has been seized.
The vessel has no polluting substances and the Port Fund must take action to remove it, while the Port Authority has proceeded to install a fence to prevent any leaks.
In his statements to ERT Chania, the President of the Port Fund, Dimitris Virirakissaid that the matter will be taken up by the newly established Shipwrecks Committee, which will commission an expert to calculate the cost of retrieving and removing it.
It is questionable, however, why the Customs did not auction the rusty boat, in order to sell it for scrap metal, but instead now, it will have to be removed at the expense of the Greek State.
Let us recall that the case – which had also taken on political dimensions – began when the packages were transferred to Montenegro from the SEKAP tobacco industry.
From there it appears to have started a journey to Lebanon, which was never completed, after a mechanical failure left the vessel unruly south of Crete on 24-11-2016, to be followed by the rescue operation by the Coast Guard and the recovery of the millions of cigarettes in its holds.
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