12:16 28.12.2020

Repairs completed on Yany Kapu tug boat seized by Russian border guards in Kerch Strait in Nov 2018

2 min read
Repairs completed on Yany Kapu tug boat seized by Russian border guards in Kerch Strait in Nov 2018

Ukraine has completed the repairs of the Yany Kapu tug boat, which Russian border guards seized in the Kerch Strait in November 2018, the Army Inform news agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports.

"A dock repair of the Yany Kapu tug boat of the Ukrainian Navy has been completed at one of the Ukrainian ship repair enterprises. In fact, it has been possible to restore the combat capability of this vessel from now on it will be able to carry out tasks as intended," the message says.

So, during the repair work, the ship was cleaned, the defects were corrected, the damaged parts of the hull and deck were replaced, and they were painted.

In addition, the gas duct, fuel pumps, fire system valves and compressors were repaired at Yany Kapu. Also, the steering and anchor gear, electrical equipment and interior rooms were repaired in the tug.

As reported, on November 25, 2018, Russian border guards detained the Ukrainian tug Yany Kapu and small armored artillery boats Berdiansk and Nikopol en route from Odesa to Mariupol using weapons in the Kerch Strait area.

In Russia, 24 Ukrainian sailors were accused of "illegal border crossing committed by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy or by an organized group, or with the use of violence or with the threat of its use" (Part 3 of Article 322 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

In April 2019, Ukraine began international arbitration proceedings against the Russian Federation for the illegal seizure on its part of three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 members of their crews. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea decided to apply interim measures: the court ordered Russia to immediately release the ships and their crew members.

The sailors returned to Ukraine on September 7, 2019 as part of the mutual release of the detainees by Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

On November 17, 2019, Ukrainian vessels, accompanied by the Russian coast guard, left the Kerch water area towards the Black Sea, and on November 18 they were transferred to the Ukrainian side.

On May 22, 2020, Ukraine submitted its Memorandum in this case to the arbitration tribunal, containing a statement of facts, substantiation of the legal position of evidence.

AD
AD
AD
AD
AD