Russia not to appeal seizure of Neyma tanker by Ukrainian court
The Russian government does not intend to appeal the ruling by a Ukrainian court to seize the Russian tanker NEYMA, which was used to obstruct Ukrainian military vessels in the Kerch Strait. However, the Kremlin will monitor the situation closely, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin in an interview on the Russian radio station Kommersant FM.
Moscow’s official stance on the matter is that, since the ship is private property, the onus is on its owner to appeal the seizure.
“For us, the most important thing was to have the people released. Our citizens, the sailors, have already been away from home for a long time,” explained Karasin.
On 25 July, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in conjunction with the Military Prosecution Office arrested the Russian tanker NEYMA, which was used to obstruct Ukrainian military vessels in the Kerch Strait in November last year. The tanker had entered the Ukrainian port of Izmail under the new name Nika Spirit. Ukrainian officers searched the ship and confiscated documents, recordings of radio communications during the conflict, and onboard journals. The Ukrainian authorities also questioned the crew and confiscated documents deemed necessary to establish the truth in the case.
The SBU later stated that the ship’s crew had not violated any maritime or Ukrainian legislation, and that there was therefore no reason to detain the Russian sailors. On 26 July the sailors were allowed to return home.