Vladimir Vladimirov – maritime attorney from the Vladimirov, Kirilova, Bonchovski & Co Law Office, Bulgaria commented on the case of the detained ship “Vezhen” in Sweden
Lawyer Vladimirov emphasized that Bulgaria has the right to carry out the relevant inspections and checks in the case and that it is too early to talk about any form of guilt.
Speculations must be limited and it must be established what evidence we have and what conclusions can be drawn. The most important documents are the ship’s logbook and the navigation chart.
“The vessel stopped moving in a certain way. She had zero speed, she even stopped for about 20 minutes. This means that there may have been some kind of accident. The question from the point of view of pure mechanics, taking into account that one of the anchor flaps is missing, means that the impact with the bottom or the friction was with something very still and strong, perhaps a stone. It is unlikely that an optical cable with a maximum diameter of about 8 cm could cause the breakage.”
The weather was bad, there was a critical situation, but how bad it was must be established objectively, not subjectively, he insisted. If negligence is established, the relevant insurer should also intervene with its expertise in order to determine the coverage of the policy.
The ship can be detained for technical reasons, but more importantly, “Sabotage is a disturbing and severe crime. “If this is proven, the ship’s command staff, the captain on duty, the captain and possibly part of the deck crew could be held liable,” Vladimirov said.
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