Russian cargo ship, detained at Kerala port, released
India Today
A Russian cargo ship which was detained at a Kerala port was released on Wednesday.
A Russian ship with military cargo for the Indian armed forces , which was detained at a Kerala port, has been released on Wednesday. The Russian embassy had taken up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and had requested an explanation.
According to Russian envoy Oleg Avdeev, the bulk carrier MV MAIA-1, was released after the Kerala High Court's intervention.
"The owner of the Russian ship and the Estonian company that filed the lawsuit held talks and settled the issues that arose. The company then appealed to the High Court of Kerala and withdrew its claim. The court decided to release the vessel from arrest, close the case and let it [the ship] leave the port," Avdeev told Russian news agency TASS.
According to the diplomat, the crew of the Russian bulk carrier had no problems because the arrest only involved the ship.
"The sailors stayed on board and were provided with everything they needed, so they were taken care of," he added.
The carrier with military cargo for Indian armed forces was detained at Cochin port on Tuesday. The detention was connected to a lawsuit filed by Bunker Partner OU, an Estonian coastal services company, which claimed that the vessel's owners were allegedly in debt.
But, the court permitted the weaponry to be unloaded because the cargo itself had nothing to do with the lawsuit.
