EXCLUSIVE A key institution overseeing the Port of Constanta has become the raget of the PSD. Transport Ministry plans to gut director of Naval Authority / Links to Queen Hind shipwreck

A draft government decision initiated by the Ministry of Transport, led by Sorin Grindeanu (PSD), deprives the position of director general of the Romanian Naval Authority (ANR) of its powers and makes it totally subordinate to the seven-member board appointed by the Minister of Transport. At stake are three vacant management posts within the authority, according to G4Media sources, and targeted for a position is the former head of the Midia Captaincy, under whose tenure the Queen Hind disaster took place, resulting in the death of thousands of sheep.

Why is the Romanian Naval Authority important? The institution is responsible for inspecting, controlling and supervising navigation in Romanian waters. ANR checks that ships coming to and from the main ports, including the port of Constanța, comply with all safety rules (whether they exceed the permitted cargo, whether they have the necessary safety systems, etc.) In addition, ANR is the only institution that classifies and certifies ships and grants certificates to seafarers.

As Romania has become the main sea and inland waterway transport route for goods from war-torn Ukraine, the control over navigation, exercised by the Romanian state through the Romanian Naval Authority, is all the more important.

The draft government decision, put up for public debate by the Ministry of Transport and now in the inter-ministerial approval circuit, basically takes the main powers away from the director general (a position held since 2019 by Cosmin Laurențiu Dumitrache) and transfers them to the governing board, directly controlled by the Ministry of Transport, which makes the appointments to this body.

The stake of the move, according to G4Media information, is to fill executive control positions mainly in the Port of Constanta. These are the positions of director of the Constanta Zonal Captaincy, deputy director of the Constanta Zonal Captaincy and director of Navigation Safety, Ship Safety and Seafaring Personnel. There are also vacancies in other services, following a wave of retirements in the institution.

So, according to the draft prepared by the Ministry of Transport, the Director-General loses his capacity as Chairman of the Governing Board. Thus, the chairman of the Governing Board will be appointed by decision of the Minister of Transport.

The draft also stipulates that the Director-General can no longer propose to the Governing Board the appointment or removal of subordinate directors in the event of interim appointments until the posts are filled by public selection. The Board will also be responsible for the appointment of the NRA’s heads of service. In addition, all hirings and dismissals will be made with the approval of the Governing Board.

The draft is disputed by several naval law experts, who told G4Media that such a change cannot be made by government decision, as the dual capacity of the director is guaranteed by law, a normative act with superior legal force.

One of the stakes of the project is to install Florin Cristian Șincan, supported by a PSD group, on one of the vacant positions, official sources told G4Media. The project emerged after the current director of the Romanian Naval Authority refused to appoint Șincan to the post.

Șincan’s name is linked to one of the biggest naval scandals of the last decade. It is about the stranding in 2019 in the port of Midia of the Queen Hind, overloaded with live sheep, an event that resulted in the death of thousands of drowned animals.

At the time, Florin Cristian Șincan was the head of the Midia Captaincy, the institution that was supposed to control compliance with safety regulations by ships coming to and leaving the Port of Midia. He was accused by the local press of mishandling the situation of the vessel loaded with sheep.

The local press also writes about Florin Cristian Șincan’s support among PSD leaders.

The Ministry of Transport has not responded to G4Media’s queries since last week on this draft government decision, and the Romanian Naval Authority has told G4Medi that „at this date it has no comments or proposals to make on this draft regulation”.

What happens to the draft regulation? The draft government decision is now in the approval circuit at the ministries. If it receives all the necessary approvals, it could be put on the agenda of a government meeting and adopted.