MOSCOW, July 9 (RAPSI) — The Fifteenth Commercial Court of Appeals has dismissed a complaint of Inmorterminal company against a lower court decision to recover from it the damages in the amount of more than 145 million rubles (about $2 million) for the harm to the Black Sea.

The company appealed against the decision of the Commercial Court of a southern Russian region Krasnodar Krai dated April 23, which had satisfied a claim of the local office of the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) against OOO Inmorterminal as to compensation of the damage caused to the Black Sea by this company.

According to the environmental watchdog, on June 2, 2019, a road traffic accident occurred in the city of Novorossiysk with the participation of a vehicle operated by Inmorterminal; the said vehicle transported oil products. As a result, oil products got into the city storm collector, and then into the Black Sea.

Rosprirodnadzor noted in its claim that the flow of oil products into the water body continued for several months; all that time, rescue operations were carried out. According to the experts of the local office of the body, the damage to the Black Sea made about 157 million rubles ($2 million at the current exchange rate).

Due to the fact that Inmorterminal failed to voluntarily repay the said damages, the body turned to the Commercial Court of the Krasnodar Krai, which, taking into account that the company had spent certain funds to eliminate pollution and overcome its consequences, reduced the amount of damage by 11.1 million rubles ($143,000), Rosprirodnadzor said in the statement.