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Russian Trawler Flees With Norwegian Inspectors Aboard, Chase Continues
Norway’s coast guard was chasing a Russian trawler in the Barents Sea after the boat, stopped on suspicion of illegal fishing, fled with two Norwegian inspectors aboard, officials said Monday night. Russian media speculated the developments had all the making of a political scandal.
International media agencies said the coast guard vessel Tromsoe was considering firing a warning shot in the direction of the Elektron, a move which could spark a diplomatic spat between Norway and Russia. Russia’s Gazeta.Ru website quoted its source in local security agencies denying reports of warning shots having been fired.
The ship’s captain, identified as Yarantsev, also reported by radio that the pursuing ships had been preparing to open fire on his vessel, Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency reported late Monday, adding that Norwegian officials denied that the pursuers received any such order.
The trawler was stopped on Saturday in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic, in waters over which Norway claims full sovereignty. “The ship was transporting various types of illegal equipment, including nets which pick up just about everything, including small fish and fry,” Norwegian navy spokesman John Espen Lien said.
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Two inspectors boarded the Elektron, and the ship headed for the Tomsoe in northern Norway following orders from Norwegian authorities. But the trawler then changed its route on Sunday, “going back and forth” without a real course, Espen Lien said.
In Moscow an official at Russia’s navy headquarters, Igor Dygalo, said Russia’s navy would not interfere in the Elektron affair. “In accordance with international maritime law, the Russian navy won’t interfere in this situation. Everything will be solved on a diplomatic level and by the vessel’s owner,” Dygalo said.
An official with Russia’s Arctic regional border guard told Interfax news agency that Norwegian and Russian officials were coordinating their response and that the captured Norwegian inspectors’ lives were not at risk. “The Norwegian inspectors on board the trawler are alive and well. They are not threatened by anything,” Interfax quoted the unnamed official as saying.
Russia’s NTV television channel said on Tuesday morning the events unfolding in the Barents Sea could cause an international row.
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