Ukraine seizes Russian tanker and crew ‘blocking’ Black Sea port months after Moscow captured three of its ships

UKRAINE has seized a Russian taker in the Black Sea port of Izmail as tensions continue to simmer between the two former Soviet republics.

The move appears to be in retaliation to Moscow’s detaining of three Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait last November.

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“The Ukraine security service and military prosecutors’ office detained a Russian tanker, the Neyma, which had blocked Ukrainian warships in the Kerch strait,” the security service said in a statement today.

Russia captured the vessels and their crews in waters that separate the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and Russia.

The Ukrainian security service said the vessel had entered Ukraine under its new name, the Nika Spirit, “to cover its involvement in illegal actions”.

But apparently they  had identified the ship by its unique International Maritime Organisation number (IMO).

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“The above named vessel is considered to be a piece of material evidence, (and) a petition to a court for its arrest is being prepared,” the security service said in its statement.

In Moscow, senior Russian lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov described Ukraine’s detention of the tanker as “absolutely illegal” and said it was detrimental to relations between the two countries, RIA news agency reported.

Russian state media also reported that the crew of the ship had been released and been sent home.

In Kiev, Ukraine’s ombudswoman said negotiations on the release of the Ukrainian sailors from the three vessels seized by the Russian navy off Crimea’s coast had intensified.

Russian and Ukrainian leaders spoke by phone earlier this month.

Last November the Russian military seized three Ukrainian naval ships and 23 crew following a dramatic shootout off the coast of the Crimean peninsula.

Two of the craft -  the ​Berdyansk and the Nikopol - were damaged in the Black Sea clash which left six injured - including two in a "grave" condition.

During the heated stand-off, a Russian coastguard vessel even rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat after being ordered to "squash him."

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Crew on the Russian ship were told to hold on tight as it ploughed into the Ukrainian tug in the hotly-contested Kerch Strait.

The same Russian ship then opened fire on and seized the three Ukrainian vessels, say military officials in Kiev.

Putin's special forces seized the military boats after claiming they had entered Russian waters illegally.

Dire straits

• Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and then built a giant road bridge linking it to southern Russia, straddling the Kerch Strait.
• The $3.69bn (£2.7bn) Crimean Bridge was opened by Russia's president Vladimir Putin in May 2018. At 11.2miles long, it is considered to be the longest bridge in Russia.
• The Kerch Strait is narrow stretch of water linking the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, home to two of Ukraine's most important ports.
• Russia's control of Crimea, where its Black Sea Fleet is based, and of the bridge, mean it is able to control shipping flows.
• A bilateral treaty gives both Russia and Ukraine the right to use the Sea of Azov, which lies between them and is linked by the narrow Kerch Strait to the Black Sea.
• Since the annexation, tension has risen with both countries complaining about shipping delays and harassment.

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