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Four Svitzer tugs arrested

The Arbitration Court of the Sakhalin Region satisfied the request of Sakhalin Energy LLC for interim measures and imposed an arrest on the 'Svitzer Aniva', 'Svitzer Sakhalin', 'Svitzer Busse' and 'Svitzer Korsakov', owned by the Svitzer Sakhalin B.V. and being used under the Sakhalin-2 project, according to a court ruling from April 24, 2023. The arrest with the right to conduct bunkering operations and transportation of passengers in the port of Prigorodnoye, but within the territorial waters of Russia has been imposed on the tugs, which have been handed over to Sip Management with the ability to use them. According to the court ruling, in September 2012, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (SEIC, formeroperator of Sakhalin-2 project) and Svitzer Sakhalin Terminal Towage LLC signed a charter agreement for tugs owned by the Svitzer Sakhalin B.V. (the Netherlands) which were given to the Svitser Sakhalin under the bareboat charter agreement. In Nov 2022, a trilateral contract novation was singed according to which all rights and obligations of SEIC were transferred to Sakhalin Energy (the current operator of Sakhalin-2). However, on April 17, 2023, Svitzer Sakhalin notified of the immediate suspension of the contract due to force majeure, referring to a letter received from Svitzer about the planned termination of bareboat charters, the change of ships’ flags and their relocation from the territorial waters of the Russian Federation. According to the court, the requested interim measures were aimed exclusively at ensuring the claimant's ability to continue using tugs under the existing contract and to continue implementation of the Sakhalin-2 project. The court ruling was subject to immediate execution, but could be appealed within one month.New operator of the Sakhalin 2 project, the Sakhalin Energy LLC, which commenced its operation on Aug 19 2022. The new structure will take over the rights and obligations of the previous operator as well as its personnel. Previously, Sakhalin-2 was operated by the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Sakhalin Energy), whici is registered on the Bermuda Islands Gazprom holding 50%, Shell - 27.5% Mitsui – 12.5%, Mitsubishi - 10%. Sakhalin 2, Russia’s first LNG plant, produces about 11,5 million tonnes per year. The plant is fed by gas from the Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lungskoye fields of the Sakhalin shelf.