XIANG HAI LIN 8

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Fishing vessel released

The "Xiang Hai Lin 8" which had been detained by North Korean border patrol officers has been released on July 27. The coordinated work of the Russian diplomatic agency led to a release of the fishing boat. At 4 p.m. captain Verevka was informed by the North Korean side about the release. At 7.30 p.m. the vessel left the Wonsan port’s pier and headed to Sokcho (South Korea), where two South Korean crewmembers will come ashore. The vessel was released without any fines.

Crew running out of supplies

The owners of the "Xiang Hai Lin 8" were taking necessary steps to speed-up the process of inspecting the vessel for a quick release while the crew was running out of food, water and fuel. The vessel's operating company, the Sakhalin region authorities and the Russian Embassy in North Korea were working on facilitating the resolution of the situation and return of the Russian sailors after the vessel was detained by North Korean border guards in the night of July 17. The border guards with machine guns had boarded the vessel which was proceeding 90 kilometres from the North Korean coast. They disconnected the vessel's communication and switched the engine off. The crew was accused of illegally entering a special zone along the coast of North Korea. There were 15 Russians and two South Korean nationals on board. The South Korean crew members, as well as the captain and his assistant, have been moved to a hotel, and the rest of the Russian crew was locked in their cabins and banned from going on the upper deck.

Diplomats visited captured purse seiner

Russian diplomats were allowed to visit the captured "Xian Hai Lin 8" on July 23, 2019. The master, one of officers and two South Korean fishermen were kept on shore in local hotel under arrest, the rest of the crew remained arrested on board in harsh conditions. They were interrogated and searched two times per day. The purse seiner had been seized by the North Korean Coast Guard in the morning of July 17 55 miles off the North Korean coast in international waters with 17 crew members on board, among them 15 Russians and two South Koreans. The ship was sailing from South Korea to fishing grounds in the Japan Sea. The North Korean Coast Guard boarded vessel and switched off all communications and took the vessel to Wonsan.