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Russian border guards detain Ukrainian ship for illegal fishing off Crimea

Several kilometers of fishing nets were confiscated

SIMFEROPOL, May 4. /TASS/. Russian border guards on Friday detained a Ukrainian ship on the suspicion of illegal fishing, the press-service of the regional border guard office said. The incident occurred off Crimea’s western coast, near Cape Tarkhankut.

There were five crew members on board. All of them were identified as Ukrainian citizens. The ship and the crew were taken to Crimea for further inquiries, the press-service said. Several kilometers of fishing nets were confiscated.

According to a TASS correspondent in Kiev the fishing boat had no permission to enter the area where it was detained, the press-secretary of Ukraine’s border guard service Oleg Slobodyan said.

"The ship was authorized to fish within the twelve-mile zone," Slobodyan told the 112 Ukraine television channel. "It had no permission to go beyond Ukraine’s state border. It is difficult to say how it violated the Ukrainian border and entered the zone we regard as temporarily occupied. Possibly, the captain went there for better catch and ignored the risks of likely detention."