On 26 November 2025, the Court arrested the ship Tassos in response to the claim of LLC Omega Energy (the claimant) against the ship's owner, Tassos International Ltd (the defendant), for damages arising from the loss of a cargo of oil during transhipment (see CMI2753). On 15 December 2025, the defendant applied for the release of the ship.

Held: The application was dismissed. The arrest was upheld.

The specifics of granting security measures in different areas may be stipulated by law or by international treaties to which Russia is a party. This position is set out in s 16 of the Informational Letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court of Russia No 81, dated 13 August 2004. The specifics of ship arrest are stipulated by the law regulating merchant shipping.

Under art 391(1) of the Merchant Shipping Code of Russia (the MSC RF), a ship can be released only by a court ruling. Under s 5.1 of the Arrest Convention 1952, a court or other competent authority may release a ship upon provision of sufficient alternative security in the form of a guarantee or other security. The defendant did not provide a guarantee or other alternative security. Therefore, there was no ground to release the ship.

The defendant's argument that the claimant did not have the right to claim because the claim was based on a void assignment was not supported by the case files. The defendant's reference to disproportionateness was also disregarded, as the proportionality criterion is directly excluded by the law of ship arrest. The defendant's other arguments related to the merits of the case, and could not be considered at the preliminary stage of granting a security measure.