Russia is continuing its diplomatic efforts to secure the release of its citizens aboard a ship detained off the Indian coast. Russia’s Embassy in New Delhi sent six notes to India’s Ministry of External Affairs on October 3.
Maria Zakharova, the official representative of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said local authorities needed to take measures to secure the release of the Russian citizens remaining aboard the ship.
Twenty Russians are aboard the ship near Paradip
According to Zakharova, 20 Russian citizens are aboard the ship. With the support of Russia’s consulate general, the senior engineer returned home for health reasons.
The Cameroon-flagged tanker was detained off the Indian coast in May over a commercial dispute. The dispute was linked to a debt owed by the ship’s owner to a local fuel supplier.
The ship, carrying a total of 23 seafarers, has remained anchored near Paradip Port since then. Relatives of the crew said in June that those aboard the ship were trying to survive on four potatoes per person per day.
The insurance company began supporting the replenishment of the tanker’s food supplies at the end of July. Despite this, regular delays in food deliveries continued.
Zakharova said the supply of drinking water and food to the tanker Unity had been completed. She said Russian diplomats were in contact with local port authorities to arrange a crew change and remained in regular communication with the ship’s captain, owner and agency company. Zakharova added that lawyers were working with judicial authorities in the state of Orissa to resolve the issue. The Orissa High Court is reviewing the crew’s petition concerning local authorities’ refusal to allow the ship to berth; the lack of berthing permission is preventing progress on procedures to send the seafarers back to their countries.
