YALTA, April 28. /TASS/. Russia’s Marine Board will develop a mechanism for concerted action of government agencies in cases of piracy, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said after the Board meeting.
"We agreed that a mechanism for concerted action of Russian agencies will be discussed within the Marine Board framework, which must guarantee action of the Russian state for the protection of integral civil and human rights of Russian citizens caught in a situation of actual sea piracy," the official said commenting on a situation with the arrest of the Nord vessel from Crimea by Ukraine.
"An exchange of opinions regarding criminal action of Ukrainian authorities on capturing of our sailors took place" during the Marine Board meeting, Rogozin said. "The Marine Board does not formally deal with it because it is mainly engaged in matters of production and operation of seagoing ships, issues related to development of infrastructure of seaports and riverine ports, and regulatory support. This is the government authority dealing with non-operating response matters. Nevertheless, I would like to say on behalf of all Marine Board members: we are filled with indignation regarding the occurrence," he added.
Nord ship’s detention
On March 25, the Ukrainian Border Guard Service detained a vessel flying the Russian flag with a crew of ten Russian citizens, the residents of the Crimean city of Kerch, in the Sea of Azov. The fishing vessel’s captain was charged with "violating the procedure of entry to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and exit from it for the purpose of causing damage to the state’s interests."
He was released on bail and told to appear before the court and investigative bodies at their first demand. Simultaneously, another Ukrainian court imposed administrative fines on all members of the crew for the total sum of about $1,200. Later on, the Ukrainian border guards did not let the crewmembers accompanied by diplomatic workers to leave the country using Russian passports, because Ukraine considers Crimean residents to be citizens of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, residents of Crimea, which was incorporated into Russia after the 2014 referendum, must present Ukrainian rather than Russian passports.