Usually when they talk about pirates, it's about distant Somalia. Alas, this time the seizure of the vessel was made by the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, which is crawling out of the skin, trying to prove its belonging to a civilized Europe. Moreover, it was stated that now the Ukrainian border service will detain all ships that leave the ports of the Crimea without an agreement with Kiev. And this is after the UN court in The Hague recognized Crimea as Russian.
Border Guard Service of Ukraine detained a fishing schooner "Nord" in the Azov Sea. The arrest was made by a decision of the Ukrainian court. Onboard there were 10 fishermen, all of them - citizens of Russia. The crew is accused of violating the order of visiting the Crimea, and the captain of the ship Vladimir Gorbenko - in an attempt to inflict economic harm to the interests of Ukraine. He was taken to the Kherson court. According to the law of Ukraine, he faces up to 5 years in prison.
Fishermen offer freedom in exchange for Ukrainian citizenship. Fishermen refused, they made their choice 4 years ago. Issued in the Crimea, Russian authorities do not recognize Russian passports and demand that relatives of arrested persons bring Ukrainian passports to their remaining homes. Such really preserved by many Crimeans, because this is the only document that allows you to travel to Ukraine to relatives. However, according to these passports, as citizens of Ukraine, fishermen will fall under another article, a more severe one. The crew is subjected to humiliation and bullying by the SBU and border guards. So Ukrainian pirates are no different from Somali. Pirate - he and the pirate in Ukraine. The team is next to five tons of rotting fish, a waste tank and operating electrical equipment. There is no possibility to check the safety of the sealed equipment, therefore a fire can occur on the ship at any time.
What can Russia do? The command of the Black Sea Fleet is ready to ensure the safety of navigation in the water area of ??the Azov Sea and the north-eastern part of the Black Sea. The Black Sea Fleet is a strong argument. Russia can simply block the Kerch Strait, then the large ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol will be cut off from large water. Moscow handed over a note of protest to an attorney in the affairs of Ukraine in Russia. A criminal case was brought against the hijacking of a Russian ship.
And while the captain of the Nord began to have health problems: pressure, bad with the heart. He was transferred from the IVS to the hospital in Kherson. The hypertensive crisis after the arrest happened in the captain and one of the sailors. However, they were denied medical assistance at that time.