O ship in question was intercepted on January 7th by US authoritieswhich the accused of being part of a ghost fleet.
The two Russian crew members of the Russian-flagged oil tanker ‘Marinera’, seized by the United States earlier this month in the North Atlantic, have been released and are on their way to their country, Russian authorities said this Wednesday.
“The two sailors have been released and are on their way to Russia,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
O ship in question was intercepted on January 7th which the accused of being part of a ghost fleet used to circumvent United States sanctions on the transport of Venezuelan, Russian and Iranian oil, and to sail under a false flag.
The ship’s name and exact status are controversial. Moscow calls it ‘Marinera’ and says it received provisional authorization to sail under the Russian flag on 24 December.
Two days after the oil tanker was seized, Russia indicated that Washington had acceded to its request and decided to release two Russian citizens who were members of the crew, but last week, Moscow expressed “perplexity and disillusionment” stating that he was still waiting for the sailors to be released.
Washington had previously announced that the crew would be prosecuted.
Russia accused the United States of fomenting “military and political tensions” and expressed concern that “Washington is willing to provoke serious international crises.”
The two people freed are the captain and first officer of the tanker and left United Kingdom territorial waters aboard a United States Coast Guard vessel, according to the British press.
