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Russian ship held in South Korea, possibly over US sanctions, says ITF inspector

The Russian consul in Busan has been informed about the matter

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. A cargo ship ‘Sevastopol’ owned by Gudzon shipping company has been held in South Korea, an inspector of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) Pyotr Osichansky told TASS on Saturday, adding that the US sanctions could have been the reason for detention.

"To the best of my knowledge, (the reason for detention of the ship were) the aftershocks of sanctions imposed against (the company). Today the company received a letter in Korean, which says that the ship has not been arrested, but has been held for a certain period of time for fact-finding," he said.

According to Osichansky, the Russian consul in Busan has been informed about the matter.

Earlier the US Treasury Department announced expansion of North Korea-related sanctions lists. Russia-based Gudzon shipping company and Primorye Maritime Logistics were added to them. The document also contains six ships under the Russian flag - Patriot, Neptun, Bella, Bogatyr, Partizan and Sevastopol. It is suggested that restrictions have been imposed due to suspicions of companies’ participation in fuel supplies to North Korea.