Gunmen left the Etel ship with Ukrainian sailors on board that was seized in the Libyan port of Benghazi, when the batch of cars over which the conflict developed arrived at the port from Ukraine.

"According to the updated information from Ukraine's Embassy in Libya, on August 29 the gunmen left the Etel ship with 19 Ukrainian sailors on board, which was seized at the Libyan port of Benghazi on July 17 this year. On August 28, the Sea Amazon ship with a batch of cars for Libya arrived at Libya's coast, the unloading is being carried out at the port," Oleksandr Dykusarov, an adviser to Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Kostiantyn Hryschenko, told Interfax-Ukraine.

"We hope that the Etel ship with Ukrainians on board will be leave the port of Benghazi in the near future, as soon as it receives the relevant permit. The most important thing is that the gunmen that were staying on board of the Etel ship are not there any more and nothing threatens our citizens' lives and health," he said.

Dykusarov added that the release of the Etel ship was a practical effect of negotiations held by Hryschenko in Tripoli on July 31 by order of the Ukrainian president. Hryschenko continues to keep the issue under regular control, he added.

As reported, on July 17, 2013, the Etel, a ship flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, whose crew consists of 19 Ukrainian citizens, was seized in the Libyan port of Benghazi by unidentified gunmen. Those who seized the vessel stated that they were protecting the interests of 25 Libyan businessmen who were robbed by the owner of the Etel (the issue concerns nearly 600 cars worth about $9.5 million). The ship was allegedly to transport the cars from Jordan to Benghazi. But local businessmen claimed that the cars were unloaded in Ukraine, not at the point of destination.

A number of media later circulated reports that the Libyans had demanded the return of the cars or payment of their value as a condition for the release of the Ukrainian sailors.

According to a report posted on the Web site of the Prosecutor General's Office, the criminal proceedings were launched under Part 1, Article 15 and Part 4, Article 190 of the Criminal Code into an attempt to carry out a fraudulent scheme to obtain cars worth more than $20 million, which the Faina vessel was shipping from Jordan to Libya, and which were unloaded at Illichivsk seaport on March 18, 2013.

The media reported that mediators from Jordan had allegedly sold one and the same freight of 650 KIA and Hyundai cars to a Ukrainian and a Libyan companies. The Libyan company paid for the cars in full, while the Faina came to Illichivsk instead of Benghazi and unloaded the freight there.

On August 25, the Sea Amazon, a dry cargo ship carrying cars demanded by Libyan businessmen to free Ukrainians they have taken captive, departed from the port of Illichivsk (Odesa region) for the port of Benghazi (Libya).

On August 28, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine stated that it was taking measures to help the Ukrainian sailors return to Ukraine as soon as possible. It also said that the Ukrainians were well and were provided with everything they needed.