State enterprise Illichivsk maritime merchandise port (Odesa region) has claimed that illegal court actions are being carried out against cargo located there.

The press service of the port reported, with reference to a letter from the department of the State Enforcement Service of Illichivsk justice department in Odesa region dated June 3, 2015, that the Korolevsky district court of Zhytomyr on April 17 issued a ruling on the arrest of 72,000 tonnes of nickel ore and 7,000 tonnes of ferronickel which belonged to Bowring Trading LLC and was stored in the warehouses of the port.

"The letter of the enforcement service did not contain a copy of the court ruling, and court considered that there is no need of sending the ruling to the port," reads the report.

On June 4, a letter from the cargo forwarding agent – U.S.-Ukrainian JV Trace – was received. It said that the above-mentioned ruling of the district court was revoked by the ruling of the same court of May 19, and the forwarding agent presented the copy of the ruling.

According to information available to JV Trace, on June 4 its representatives filed a similar letter with the front office of Illichivsk justice department in Odesa region, and the department was informed on the revoking of the ruling of the Korolevsky district court of Zhytomyr of April 17, and there are no legal grounds to enforce the revoked ruling.

"Despite the fact of the official receiving of information that the ruling of the Korolevsky district court of Zhytomyr of April 17 was revoked, on June 4 law enforcers entered the territory of the Illichivsk port to enforce the revoked ruling after getting permits from the Illichivsk branch of Sea Port Authority of Ukraine, which is responsible for the pass regime on the port's territory," reads the report issued by the port.

In addition, on June 8, the port received a copy of the letter sent to the head of Odesa customs service from the deputy head of the investigation department of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Kirovohrad region with a demand to suspend the customs clearance of the said cargo. The reason mentioned in the letter is not the court ruling, but criminal proceedings which were launched on September 9, 2014.

On June 9 the port received a resolution from law enforcement agents dated June 8 on the suspension of the enforcement of the ruling, as the enforcement department sent a request to the Korolevsky district court of Zhytomyr and the appeal court of Zhytomyr region to send explanations if the cargo was arrested. Judge of the Korolevsky district court Valeriy Kolupayev wrote the letter to the enforcement service, according to which the ruling is considered suspended and cannot be enforced, as the counterclaim against the ruling of the court of May 19, 2015 was filed.

"The absolute unlawfulness of the "explanation" is obvious. The judge decided himself the issue of accepting a claim which was submitted after the five-day term during which this ruling could be appealed.