Mistrals & Yukos: Wait... And Seize?


 
In July, Russia has been condemned to a 50 billion dollars fine by the court in The Hague in the Yukos case. The deadline to pay this fine is the 15th of January 2015. Could the Mistrals be seized to pay the fine if Russia fails to pay in time?
Civil or war ships?
“We will deliver civilian hulls,” French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said at an aeronautics and defense conference organized by business daily Les Echos. “It’s a reality. The client can then arm the two ships. We will deliver, under the signed contract, a package which is not armed.”
So, did France find a trick to sell the Mistrals not as military war ships but civilian hulls that can be armed?
Why is that important?
For military war ships, a judgment issued in december 2012 allowed Argentina to get back its war ship "Libertad" that had been blocked in Ghana for ten weeks in a trial to get the ship to pay a government debt. It is possible that the Mistrals could get the same treatment if they had been sold as military war ships. You rarely have two identical judgments but this would defnitely been used by Russia's lawyers would the benefactors of the Yukos judgment decide to have the Mistrals seized.
Advantages of having the Mistrals seized to pay the Yukos fine:
- No jobs put at risk, the second boat is finished and seized to be sold when ready
- Knowing who owns the stern section built in Russia is not an issue (Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin declared that these belong to Russia)
- No money lost for France
- The only thing to do is to postpone the delivery until the 16th of January
According to Mr Le Drian, the Mistrals are being sold as civilian ships, so they can be seized to pay the Yukos fine would Russia fail to pay the 50 billion dollars by the 15th of january. Is Mr Le Drian telling the truth? Nobody knows as France is doing a black out and does not reveal any aspects of the contract linking DCNS to Rosoboronexport.


Wait... and seize?


Dimitri HalbyNo Mistrals for Putin

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