By IRNA-Itar-Tass
Murmansk : The Norwegian police took fair action against the Russian fishing boat The Nemansky, arrested on January 5 for abusing international fishing rules, the chairman of Russia’s state committee for fisheries Goskomrybolovstvo, Andrei Krainiy, said on Friday.
The fishing boat had no right to fish or to go out to the sea, because it was suspended back in April 2006, the fisheries committee chief said.
The ship is absent from the Russian and international registers.
The captain’s arbitrary actions obviously constitute an offence and may entail a strong punishment under the Criminal Code.
“We shall ask the Norwegian authorities for the captain’s extradition in order to bring him to justice in accordance with the national legislation,” Krainiy said.
As for the other members of the crew, none of them is to blame.
“On board it is the captain who is responsible for everything,” he added.
Norwegian police fined the captain, Andrei Salmin, 10,000 U.S.
dollars for violating fishing rules. He was also charged with steering the trawler, arrested by Norway, out of a Norwegian port.
According to the Murmansk-based maritime rescue center, Norwegian coastguards detained The Nemansky on January 5 for poaching, and escorted it to the port of Kirkines.
The captain, obviously reluctant to wait for the probe to end, took the vessel out to the sea without informing port authorities.
He might have succeeded in reaching the neutral waters, but the main engine went out of order. A mechanic was badly injured.
The captain radioed a distress call to the Norwegians. The Nemansky was tugged to the port of Vadso, where it has remained since.