All Ukrainian sailors detained by the Egyptian navy in the Red Sea, crew members of the Sea Shark oil tanker, have left the base and are preparing to return to Ukraine, Deputy Director-General and Head of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry’s Department of Consular Support Vasyl Kyrylych has said.
“All Ukrainian seamen from the Sea Shark have left the Egyptian Navy base. Now there are preparatory formal arrangements for returning to Ukraine. And the captain is waiting for the consul at the embassy,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on May 28.
As reported, on May 18, members of the Egyptian Navy boarded the Sea Shark tanker with a crew of 31 sailors, including 19 Ukrainian citizens (with two sailors from Russia-annexed Crimea). The vessel was carrying crude oil from Iran.
The Egyptian officers divided the crew into two groups. They refused to comply with requests of some of the seamen, who asked to be allowed to see a doctor. They also seized mobile phones from the sailors.
Maritime Internet resources report that 19 citizens of Ukraine, a citizen of Azerbaijan, 11 citizens of the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India formed the crew of the vessel.
