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Guinea Seizes Russian Tanker
A group of armed men seized the Russian tanker Luchegorsk, belonging to the Maritime Naval Steamship Co., off the shore of Guinea. The crew, consisting of 19 Russian sailors and a Chinese translator, was accused of violating Guinea's economic zone. The ship was escorted to the port at Conakry. The Russian Foreign Ministry is now trying to free the Russian citizens.
The emergency signal was received from the Luchegorsk on the evening of August 21. The ship was tracked by satellite and contact was made with its captain the next day. Two motorboats approached the Luchegorsk when it was located 50 nautical miles from Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, and 40 nautical miles from the Guinean capital of Conakry, in Sierra Leonean waters. Ten Africans armed with Kalashnikov machineguns and wearing black uniforms with emblems of the Guinean Navy boarded the Russian ship. According to the ship's captain, they were heavily intoxicated. They accused the crew of violating Guinean waters and demanded $20,000, the documents from the ship and the crew's passports.
After the captain raised $7000 from the crew, he was allowed to use his cellular telephone. Three of the armed African remained on the ship. The Swiss owner of the ship's freight also hired private guards to watch it. The 97.4-meter long Finnish-made ship has a capacity of 3086 metric tons of freight and 4630 km. sailing distance. It is registered at the Port of Nakhodka. It was engaged by the Aldah Co. to provide fishermen off the shore of Sierra Leone with fuel.
The Maritime Naval Steamship Co. says that the ship's documents are in order and that it broke no laws. According to the Russian embassy in Guinea, consul Anatoly Maleshov has been dispatched to the port to look into the case. The Russian Foreign Ministry says that Guinean border patrol officers seized the ship. The ministry is also looking onto the case.
This is not the first time Russian sailors have had trouble in West Africa. When the African Pride was seized in Nigeria in October 2003, the 12 Russian members of its crew did not return to their homeland until December 2005.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 23, 2006
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