LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) – The captain of a Venezuela-bound crude oil tanker seized by the United States this month has been taken from British territorial waters and is now aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, a lawyer for the captain’s wife said on Tuesday.
The US Coast Guard and US military special forces, which have a judicial seizure warrant, seized the Russian-flagged Marinera in the Atlantic near Iceland on January 7 after following it for more than two weeks as part of Washington’s efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports.
After its capture, the tanker was moved to a location off the coast of Scotland.
Despite legal attempts to stop their removal, Captain Avtandil Kalandadze, a Georgian, and first officer of the boat were taken by Scottish jurisdiction to the US Coast Guard vessel Munro, Aamer Anwar, said the lawyer of Kalandadze’s wife, Natia Dzadzama.
COURT ORDER REVOKED
On Monday, a Scottish court issued an interim order preventing the captain’s removal pending a judicial review of his detention, but the order was revoked early Tuesday after the court heard that Kalandadze was already outside British territorial waters, Anwar said.
“Our client’s judicial review can no longer be enforced now that her husband has, in essence, been kidnapped by the US government on Scottish and British territory,” he said in a statement.
A British government spokesman said at the request of US authorities, the crew members have been allowed to disembark for onward travel and will be processed in accordance with the appropriate immigration requirements and the law.
“The deterrence, disruption and degradation of the Russian shadow fleet is a priority for this government. Together with our allies, we are increasing our response to shadow vessels – and we will continue to do so,” the spokesman added, referring to ships that transport oil under sanctions.
There was no immediate comment from the US Coast Guard or the Scottish government.
Anwar said the other 26 crew of the Marinera, formerly known as the Bella-1, had been processed at a British army center in Inverness. Five had chosen to travel to the United States, while the others chose alternative travel arrangements to their home countries, Anwar said.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow expected the United States to release the crew members, who he said included two Russians, as well as Ukrainians, Georgians and Indians.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Alex Richardson, Rod Nickel)