Captain's Mate Of Russian Amur Ship Detained In Japan - Reports

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2021) The captain's mate of Russia's Amur merchant ship, which collided with a Japanese fishing vessel in May, has been detained, the Kyodo news agency reports.

The captain's mate was detained on suspicion of violations during the performance of his official duties, which resulted in the death of a person, as well as violations in the process of maneuvering a vessel.

The Russian Amur vessel with 23 people on board that was transporting seafood to Monbetsu from Sakhalin in Russia's Far East and Japanese fishing boat Hokko Maru No. 8 carrying 5 people collided off Hokkaido on May 26. The people from the Japanese ship were rescued by the Amur crew, but three of them were unconscious.

Later, they were confirmed dead.

At the end of May Russian Consul General in Sapporo Sergey Marin told Sputnik that the captain of Russia's Amur had officially asked the Consulate-General of the Russian Federation in Sapporo for assistance.

Marin said that there was no information confirming that Amur violated any international agreements on safe navigation or rules for the divergence of vessels at sea, noting that evidence points to a disregard of some of these rules by Japanese fishermen. Later, Marin told Sputnik that the ship's captain was being pressured into admitting guilt.