MURMANSK, January 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Authorities of Senegal have announced that they’re planning to make a decision on the release of the detained Russian fishing trawler Oleg Naidenov by the end of Monday, January 13. Yuri Parshev, executive director of the company which owns the vessel, this information was conveyed orally; no conditions or charges have been filed officially as of yet.

He said: “Tomorrow Senegal celebrates the national holiday commemorating birth of the prophet Muhammad; it’s a governmental holiday, so we hope for a decision today.” He added that previously Senegal has used the media to voice accusations of illegal fishing and plans to confiscate caught fish and fine the watercraft; however, no official paperwork backing these statements was filed.

 

Vadim Mantorov, captain of the detain vessel, has previously said that there were attempts to force him file a report with incorrect coordinates of the vessel, which supposedly show that the trawler came one kilometer into the national waters of Senegal. The watercraft’s owner stated that fishing was conducted in the exclusive economic zone of Guinea-Bissau and all required paperwork is present.

Oleg Naidenov was seized 46 miles of Guinea-Bissau with 82 crew onboard, including 62 Russians and 20 citizens of Guinea-Bissau. The trawler was convoyed to the port of Dakar on Sunday.