Norwegian shrimp trawler Remøy sailed yesterday after being released from arrest in Murmansk where it has been held for three weeks.
According to Norwegian fishing vessel owners’ federation Fiskebåt, the trawler’s arrest on 10th May was due to a failure by the Directorate of Fisheries to complete licensing paperwork.
‘We are very pleased that crew and boat no are on their way to Tromsø. The crew have been under pressure and we are pleased that we can welcome them home after eight weeks at sea,’ Olav Remøy, chairman of Remøy Havfiske.
Nine of Remøy’s crew travelled home on 26th May, leaving a skeleton crew of eight on board.
While Remøy has been released, the legal case remains to be pursued through the Russian judicial system. Remøy was released after a great deal of effort on its behalf by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Fisheries.
Olav Remøy commented that it is frightening that such a minor error can have such far-reaching consequences.
‘With such a trivial error, it should have been possible to resolve this right away,’ he said. ‘Once the trawler is back in Tromsø, we will be taking fuel, relieving the rest of the crew and getting back to fishing as soon as possible.’
