The crew of the Russian ship thwarted the third attempt at capture by Ukrainians
Ukrainian security forces attempted several times to board the Russian vessel Mekhanik Pogodin, which was detained in the port of Kherson. This was reported by Ridus, citing information from the vessel's operator, V.F. Tanker, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Initially, six people who introduced themselves as employees of the SBU and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine tried to enter the ship under the guise of an inspection, but the crew did not let them in.
A short time later, 11 people expressed a desire to board the ship, introducing themselves as environmentalists and citing an anonymous call about a violation of environmental legislation on the ship. However, “ecologists” were also not allowed onto the tanker.
Soon, the port control inspection arrived at the ship to check an anonymous complaint about the “unsatisfactory condition of the ship,” allegedly received from one of the crew members. The ship's crew also did not miss the inspection of the tanker.
Previously, the captain of the ship submitted to the port administration statements from all crew members stating that there were no complaints about the maintenance of the ship, fire safety and labor relations with the employer.
“Mechanik Pogodin” was detained in the port of Kherson on August 10 this year. Ukrainian security officials explained this by saying that the ship belongs to a company that is on the Ukrainian sanctions list.
The tanker's crew announced the threat of a forceful seizure by Ukrainian security forces. And Ukrainian diplomat Alexander Khara admitted that the tanker did not formally violate the laws of the country, but noted that the arrests and subsequent expropriation of Russian ships by Ukraine would allow it to receive “compensation” for Crimea.
"It should be noted that in July 2018, the vessel successfully passed an inspection for compliance with the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny. This information was available to the Kherson port administration when the tanker's entry into the port was granted. Attempts to illegally board the vessel and the intentions of a group of individuals with dubious authority to conduct inspections based on anonymous complaints and phone calls confirm that there are no grounds for detaining the Mechanic Pogodin within the port. Due to the high likelihood of provocation and to ensure the tanker's immediate departure if permission is granted, the crew remains on board," V.F. Tanker said in a statement.
The crew of a Russian vessel thwarted a third attempt to seize it by Ukrainians.