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The case will be sent for international arbitration if there is no response within six months.
The state-run Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) is preparing a claim against Russia's government, seeking UAH 1.24 billion, or US$51.3 million, in compensation for losses incurred as a result of the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
"This is the second option used by the USPA to get compensation for the losses incurred in [Russia-occupied] Crimea. Earlier, the authority provided comprehensive information about its assets on the peninsula to Ukraine's Justice Ministry, which lodged a general lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights [ECHR]," the USPA's press service said on November 20.
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This time, the USPA refers to provisions of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the Encouragement and Mutual Protection of Investments dated November 27, 1998 (the Russia-Ukraine BIT).
The USPA says that the state-owned property, which was on the balance sheets of its Crimean branches, was illegally seized by the self-proclaimed "authorities" in Crimea.
"The first step is to send claims for damage recovery directly to the government of the Russian Federation. If we do not receive an answer within six months, the case will be sent for international arbitration," the press service quoted Acting CEO of USPA Raivis Veckagans as saying.
The USPA says it plans to send the relevant notification to Russia's government before the end of 2019 in line with Russia-Ukraine BIT.
"The USPA's interests in the dispute with Russia will be represented by Covington & Burling LLP, which has experience in protecting the interests of business entities in international public law arbitration institutions," the report said.
The USPA's legal claims regarding the assets seized in temporarily uncontrolled territory on the peninsula in no way mean that the authority recognizes the existence of any legal grounds for the occupation and annexation of Crimea, which remains the territory of Ukraine, the press service summed up.
UNIAN memo. The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, which was established in June 2013, combined state assets of strategic port infrastructure facilities and other property. There are 13 state seaports on mainland Ukraine. In particular, the ports of Odesa, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Chornomorsk, and Pivdenny are operating in Odesa region, while the port of Mykolaiv and the state enterprise "Stevedoring company Olvia" are located in Mykolaiv region. Ukraine also has its ports in the area of the Sea of Azov, namely the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk, as well as the Reni, Izmail, and Ust-Dunaysk ports on the Danube River.
The Kherson and Skadovsky ports are located in Kherson region.