A Scottish judge has granted an interim court order preventing the removal of the captain and crew of a US-seized oil tanker from the jurisdiction of the Scottish courts, amid claims the ship’s master is being unlawfully detained and could be taken to America without due process.
The vessel, the Marinera – formerly known as the Bella 1 – was intercepted by US authorities and brought into the Moray Firth with support from UK military assets and a US Coast Guard vessel. The captain’s wife, Mrs Kalandadze, has raised concerns over her husband’s safety and fears that the US government is attempting to bypass formal extradition procedures to move him to the United States, which she argues would breach his human rights.
Her legal team, instructed by solicitor Aamer Anwar and led in court by KC Claire Mitchell, sought a judicial review of the circumstances surrounding the detention of the captain and other crew members, and applied for an interim interdict to stop any removal from the UK. Lord Young, sitting at the Court of Session, heard urgent submissions and agreed that there was a prima facie case that the crew’s rights under Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights – covering liberty and fair process – may be engaged.
The court was told that 26 of the 28 crew had already been removed from the tanker and were in Inverness being assessed by UK immigration officials, while the whereabouts of the captain and one other crew member could not be definitively confirmed. Counsel for the UK Government, Christopher Pirie KC, indicated his understanding that the captain may have been transferred to a US Coast Guard vessel involved in the seizure, which could soon be leaving UK territorial waters.
In granting the interim interdict, Lord Young stressed that he could not make any order against the US government or the President of the United States due to legislation governing the relationship between UK courts and foreign states. Instead, the order is directed at the Advocate General, the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Ministers, and prohibits them – or anyone acting on their behalf – from removing the captain or crew of the Marinera from the territorial jurisdiction of the Scottish courts.
Lord Young said: “I am going to grant an interim interdict, but in a restricted form.
“From a prima facie point of view, I accept that the rights of the crew members are potentially engaged.
“There is a lack of clarity about their precise status. On the basis that 26 of them are under the control of the UK or Scottish authorities, there is a clear basis to direct the interim interdict against the Advocate General, the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Ministers.
“There remains uncertainty about the whereabouts of the other two crew members.
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“I do not have power to grant an interdict against either the US government or the President of the United States.”
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that UK military assets assisted the US-led operation, providing operational support as the Marinera was escorted into Scottish waters. The case now sets up a significant legal and diplomatic test of how far Scottish and UK authorities can and should cooperate with foreign enforcement actions when human rights and extradition safeguards are in dispute.
