MOSCOW, January 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Vasily Pashchenko, the captain of the Novoazovsk trawler detained in the Norwegian Sea, has been charged with violation of fish catching rules in the Norwegian economic zone, a source at the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo) told Itar-Tass on Monday. The Nordkapp Norwegian patrol ship detained the Russian trawler while it was fishing in the Norwegian Sea.

The Norwegian side claims that the Novoazovsk threw dead or dying fish overboard. Captain Vasily Pashchenko has said that the ship was arrested because of a minor technical incident: some fish was simply washed away after the safety cage of a drain hole used for dumping water from the deck into the sea had broken, the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries said.

The Novoazovsk trawler was expected to arrive at the Norwegian port of Troms at 22:00 Moscow time on January 13, 2014. At the moment, the ship continues its voyage, escorted by Norwegian patrol boats. The vessel is undamaged and the crew feels well, the Federal Agency for Fisheries went on to say.

A mid-sized Novoazovsk trawler freezer belongs to the Arkhangelsk Trawler Fleet joint-stock company and is registered at Murmansk port. The crew has 45 members. The ship has food stocks to last for 30 days.