Turkish vessel hinders transportation of two Chernomorneftegaz rigs to Russian territorial waters - company
SIMFEROPOL. Dec 14 (Interfax) - A merchant vessel flying the Turkish flag, hindered the transportation of two Chernomorneftegaz rigs from the Odesa field to Russian territorial waters, the company press service said on Monday.
"Due to the complex international situation, and the risk of losing vital assets of Chernomorneftegaz - two modern rigs V-312 and V-319 with a total value exceeding 25 billion rubles, the rigs were transported from the Odesa gas field (on the northwestern shelf of the Black Sea 150 kilometers from the Crimean shore) to Russian territorial waters," the company said.
The company said the rigs were relocated on the orders of Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov.
"An unidentified merchant vessel flying the Turkish flag appeared in the way of the convoy towing the V-312 rig. In violation of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and universal sea shipping norms, the Turkish vessel stayed in the way of the convoy on the cross course, and even tried to stop [the vessel] on its way, which intentionally created an emergency situation. The Turkish vessel's captain did not communicate with the convoy over the radio and did not respond to their calls," the report said.
"The 'misunderstanding' was resolved by the patrol cutter of the Russian FSB Border Service and the missile boat of the Black Sea Fleet, which forced the vessel flying the flag of the Turkish republic to change its course in a direction that was safe for the convoy. The V-312 successfully reached the destination point despite the storm, and was mounted on supports," the company said.
The transportation of the other rig, V-319, was also conducted during bad weather and encountered a number of technical problems, the company said.
"Both rigs have been delivered to Russian territorial waters and their safety has been assured," the company said.
This is not the first incident involving Turkish ships over the past two days. The crew of the Russian patrol ship, Smetlivy, prevented a collision with a Turkish seiner 22 kilometers off the Greek Island of Lemnos in the northern part of the Aegean Sea on December 13.