The Lithuanian diplomat met with the crew, which include three citizens of Lithuania, on Tuesday, the foreign minister’s spokeswoman Rasa Jakilaitienė confirmed to BNS.
“Consul Babravičius met with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Murmansk and officers of the Russian border service. He also had an opportunity to meet the crew and the three Lithuanian citizens aboard the ship. The consul assured that lives and health of the crew, including the three Lithuanian citizens, were not in danger, they were allowed to contact their families,” said Jakilaitienė.
The detained fishing vessel is currently close to the port of Murmansk, in territorial waters of Russia. An investigation is in progress.
The ministry said no supervision measures have been imposed on the crew, but they are not allowed to leave the ship.
The fishing vessel was detained last Friday while fishing in the Barents Sea. Russia’s ambassador has been summoned to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry over Russia’s actions and a diplomatic note was sent to Russia.
Lithuania maintains the ship was detained in international waters, as verified by satellite tracking data. Meanwhile Russia claims the Lithuanian ship was engaged in unlawful fishing in Russia’s economic zone.
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