Nigeria not rushing to charge Myre Seadiver crew - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Oct 26 (Interfax) - The crew of the Russian vessel Myre Seadiver, which was seized in Nigeria, have still not been charged with any crimes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.
"The Nigerian authorities have still not brought any official charges in accordance with which this vessel was seized," Lukashevich told a briefing in Moscow.
At the same time, the Nigerian Navy has given different versions of what occurred. "Specifically, they allege that the weapons aboard the vessel were intended for the professional security activities of Moran Security Group and was allegedly declared incorrectly," Lukashevich said.
Lukashevich also said the Nigerian authorities are alleging that the vessel "was conducting unauthorized activities in Nigerian territorial waters."
The Russia Foreign Ministry official reiterated that all the ship's documents are in order.
"According to current practices, the ship owner and the operator provided all necessary information to the Nigerian naval agent in full compliance with international regulations and standards and within the established time period," he said, adding that the documents included a document seeking the local authorities' permission to enter the Lagos port.
According to Lukasehvich, "the shipping agent" bears full responsibility for the correct and timely preparation [of the documents]."
"A probe is now conducted into this incident. A pause has been made due to the Muslim holiday," he said.
Lukashevich said the state of the Russian sailors aboard the vessel "does not raise concerns."
The vessel, which is carrying a Russian crew of 15, was stopped in the Lagos port on October 19. According to the Nigerian media, it was carrying 14 AK machine guns, 42 rifles, and over 8,500 rounds of ammunition. The vessel is currently located at a Nigerian naval base. "We have discovered that the vessel entered our territorial waters without proper notification carrying weapons cargo, which contradicts the laws of Nigeria," Nigerian Navy Real Admiral Amin Ikioda said earlier.
According to the SPARK-Interfax database, OOO Moral Security Group is 50% owned by the offshore company Neova Holdings Ltd. Among the services provided by Moral Security are "armed forwarding of vessels by our specialists," "vessel convoys (by our vessels) with armed specialists," the provision of special information on threats in water areas," and "logistics in situations where threats of piracy and military action exist in water areas."
Moral Security Group, which owns the vessel, told Interfax they find the seizure of the Myre Seadiver to be unfounded because the Nigerian authorities were informed of the vessel's plans to enter the port. "We conducted negotiations with the agent that ensured the entry into the port. The agent was provided with all necessary documents stating that entry by the vessel into the Lagos port was authorized by the Nigerian Navy," the source said.
The source confirmed that the vessel was carrying weapons and ammunition.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier denied reports of arms smuggling on the ship with a Russian crew that was detained in Nigeria.
"The Nigerian authorities stopped the vessel for examination because there were small arms and ammunition required for company operations on board and declared this through a local maritime agent when the ship called in Nigeria for repairs. However, any smuggling of arms is out of the question," a Foreign Ministry report circulated on October 24 says.