NEW DELHI, July 20. /TASS/. The Russian bulk carrier MV MAIA-1, detained in India’s Cochin port, has been released by a court’s decision, Russian Consul General in Chennai Oleg Avdeev told TASS on Wednesday.

"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 said.

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 pointed out.

Avdeev thanked Ratheesh C. Nair, Russia’s Honorary Consul in Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), who promptly became involved in the situation after the bulk carrier was detained. "Our honorary consul in Trivandrum helped the Russian sailors and is now assisting in getting permission from the port authorities to leave Cochin as soon as possible, which is a necessary formality," the diplomat explained.

The Russian Embassy in New Delhi reported on Tuesday that a Russian bulk carrier with military cargo for the Indian Armed Forces was detained in the Indian port of Cochin. This was connected with a lawsuit filed by Bunker Partner OU, an Estonian coastal services company, which claimed that the vessel's owners were allegedly in debt. In the meantime, the court permitted the weaponry to be unloaded because the cargo itself had nothing to do with the lawsuit. The Russian Embassy addressed the Indian Foreign Ministry for an official explanation of the circumstances of the incident and asked the Indian diplomatic mission to ensure unconditional observance of the rights of the Russian ship owners and crew.