“The crew members are heading home but the vessel remains in Izmail,” he noted.
The tanker’s detention
On July 25, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) stated that it had detained Russia’s Nika Spirit tanker at the port of Izmail. According to the SBU, it was actually the Neyma tanker that had blocked the movement of Ukrainian ships during the Kerch Strait incident in November 2018.
According to Ukrainian border guards, the Nika Spirit flying the Russian flag was identified at the port of Izmail through its IMO number as the Neyma tanker that had been used to shut the Kerch Strait, as per the Equasis information system.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it was working to figure out the circumstances of the tanker’s detention in order to be able to take appropriate measures.
The Kerch Strait incident
On November 25, 2018, three Ukrainian naval ships illegally crossed Russia’s border and tried to carry out some unlawful actions in Russian territorial waters. They ignored legitimate demands to come to a halt from vessels belonging to the FSB Border Service and the Black Sea Fleet, and continued maneuvering dangerously. In order to stop the Ukrainian ships, weapons had to be used. The three vessels were detained in Russian territorial waters.
A criminal investigation was opened into the border incident. The Ukrainian ships’ crew were put into custody. They are charged with violating the Russian border under Article 322.3 of the Russian Criminal Code and may face up to six years in prison if found guilty.
