Coast Guard Detains a Vessel En-Route from Abkhazia

A vessel flying the Cambodian flag, en-route from breakaway Abkhazia was seized by the Georgian coast guard on October 21, the Georgian Border Police said.

The vessel was seized in Russia?s exclusive economic zone, 65 nautical miles off Sochi, ?with observance of all the international laws,? according to the Border Police.

The ship, carrying coal from the Abkhaz port of Ochamchire, had fourteen crew members on board, most of whom are Ukrainians or Azerbaijanis, with one Russian citizen, according to the Border Police.

Sergey Shamba, the foreign minister of breakaway region, told the Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, on October 22 that the incident was yet another attempt of the Georgian side to destabilize situation in the region.

Over twenty five vessels have been detained by the coast guard for ?illegal maritime activities? in the Abkhaz section of Georgia’s territorial waters in recent two years.

In a recent incident, a Turkish vessel, also loaded with coal, was seized. Another vessel, seized in May, was sold by the Georgian authorities at auction for GEL 163,000 (about USD 97,000).

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