With the Mary Nour still docked at the Port of Altamira, Tampico, and the Altamira Customs insisting that the this Panamanian registered vessel should not be allowed to leave, undock or move at all from where it is docked until further notice, the Mexican General Directorate of the Merchant Navy, under section 30 of the Maritime Act has officially complained to the Customs authorities over what it sees as an illegal detention.
“This is to advise you that we have received from the Shipowner, Shipping Company and Master, as well as from the Country of Registration, serious allegations that undermine our country’s compliance with International Treaties, principally the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which under section 24 established Duties of the Coastal State and also the provisions of sections 26, 27 and 28 on Rules applicable to merchant vessels and Country vessels used for trading purposes. Equally, the International Treaty of Facilitation of Vessel Traffic establishes the obligations of Ports and Countries in this matter, particularly sections 1 and 5 of the Treaty.
“Bearing in mind the various government agencies involved with ports”, the Director General of the Merchant Marine also demands that “we should act by placing our country and government’s image to the fore vis-à-vis the international community, as well as offering transparency in all coordination procedures of the authorities.
“For this reason we recommend approval of the request for the vessel to continue sailing without let in as much as the vessel is merely the means of transport and the cargo was carried under a Freight Charter Agreement under International Freight Terms where the shipowner, ship and crew responsibility ends once arrived at the destination port, and the ship may sail to other ports without undermining its right under International Treaties to which Mexico is a signatory”. (Jose Tomas Lozano y Pardinas, Director General of the Merchant Marine).
