Three Indians are among the many crew on board the Russian oil tanker seized by the US, native media reported whilst Moscow on Thursday requested Washington to adjust to worldwide legal guidelines on freedom of maritime navigation whereas strongly rejecting its ‘neo-colonist’ tendencies.
The Russian Overseas Ministry additionally mentioned details about the Marinera tanker, beforehand referred to as Bella 1, that was seized on Wednesday by the US coast guard within the North Atlantic, was conveyed to America repeatedly.
“The Marinera crew consists of 17 Ukrainian residents, six Georgian residents, three Indian residents and two Russian residents,” Russia Right now mentioned, quoting sources.
“We name on Washington to renew compliance with the basic norms and ideas of worldwide maritime navigation and instantly stop its unlawful actions in opposition to the Marinera tanker and different vessels engaged in law-abiding actions on the excessive seas,” the Overseas Ministry mentioned in a press release.
Moscow mentioned it considers the US references to its nationwide “sanctions laws” to be unfounded.
“The statements by some US officers that the seizure of the Marinera is a part of a broader technique to determine Washington’s limitless management over Venezuela’s pure sources are extraordinarily cynical. We strongly reject such neo-colonialist tendencies,” the Overseas Ministry underscored.
“Unilateral restrictive measures by the US, in addition to different Western nations, are illegitimate and can’t justify makes an attempt to determine jurisdiction and, much more so, to grab ships on the excessive seas,” it mentioned.
Demanding humane and dignified therapy of its crew, the assertion mentioned: “We reiterate our demand that the US guarantee humane and dignified therapy of the Russian residents comprising the tanker’s crew, strictly observe their rights and pursuits, and make no obstacles to their immediate return to their homeland.”
It additionally expressed critical issues of the usage of navy drive by the US in opposition to the oil tanker, full details about which was conveyed to it.
“The Marinera, which on December 24 obtained short-term permission to sail underneath the Russian flag in accordance with the worldwide legislation and Russian laws, was peacefully transiting worldwide waters within the North Atlantic, heading for one in every of Russia’s ports,” the overseas ministry mentioned.
The US authorities had been repeatedly supplied with dependable info, together with from the Russian Overseas Ministry, concerning the ship’s Russian origin and its civilian standing, it asserted.
“Russia didn’t give consent to those actions. Quite the opposite, it lodged an official protest with the US authorities concerning the pursuit of the Marinera by a US Coast Guard vessel over the previous a number of weeks, insisting on the fast cessation of those actions and the withdrawal of the illegal calls for made on the Russian ship’s captain,” the ministry mentioned.
Beneath these circumstances, US navy personnel boarding a civilian vessel on the excessive seas and successfully seizing it, in addition to capturing its crew, “can solely be considered as a gross violation of the essential ideas and norms of worldwide maritime legislation and freedom of navigation,” the Russian Overseas Ministry mentioned.
