Belize vessel detained near North Kuriles for border violation

Border guards detained the Aquarius-1 craft flying the flag of Belize in the North Kuriles area (Russia's Far East).

Commander of the North-Eastern regional border-guard directorate of the Russian Federation's Federal Security Service Lieutenant-General Valery Putov told journalists on Monday that the ship had been detained for crossing Russia's state border near the Matua island of the Kuriles chain.

During a few hours on Sunday, the border guards tried to detain the Aquarius-1, which was trying to escape from a patrol ship. The vessel was stopped, and an inspecting group landed on board it only after the border guard aviation aircraft, which flew into the region of detention, gave a fire warning.

The vessel has no permission to enter Russia's territorial waters.

The ship is being convoyed to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky port for further investigation. The vessel can be confiscated from the company that owns it for violating the Russian Federation's state border.

In 2003 the Aquarius-1 was detained twice for violating the rules of catching marine bio-resources in the Russian Federation's exclusive economic zone.