SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Baltic Business Daily] — October 7, 2014 — VILNIUS, The Lithuanian company operating the ship arrested in Russia has said that the bail of 113 million rubles (EUR 2.3 mln) is two times higher than the value of the ship, therefore, an appeal has been filed.
Giedrius Gruzdys, CEO of the Arctic Fishing company, said the Russian court is ignoring all international agreements and the fact that the ship was in the territory administered by the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission at the time of the detention in mid-September.
"We are astonished to see that the court calculated the ship's value without considering its depreciation and rejected the sum specified by independent estimators. The lawyer defending our company's interests disagrees with the ruling and has filed an appeal. We still do not know the date it will be heard," Gruzdys said in a press release.
The Russian court should open hearings into the Sea Wolf case on Oct. 17.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian court said that the arrested Lithuanian fishing vessel can be released on a bail of 113 million rubles.
Vladimir Odiagailo, the lawyer of the shipowner Arctic Fishing, told BNS in a telephone interview from Russia that an appeal against the court's decision will be filed within the next ten days following consultations with the shipowners. In the meanwhile, the ship and its crew will remain at the Murmansk port, said the lawyer.
"The decision was made together with all persons concerned – we will probably appeal the decision on the grounds of the validity of the size of the bail. Of course, we would want to pay less – it is my belief that the sum is too big," the lawyer told BNS from Murmansk.
He said a reasonable bail should range between 9 and 14 million rubles.
In Odiagailo's words, the ship will not be able to leave the port until the bail has been paid.
He confirmed that the crew is feeling well.
"The crew is feeling fine. Meanwhile, the decision on the return of the ship crew will be made by the shipowner – the crew has not been detained," he said.
According to the information available to the lawyer, the issue regarding two crew members who had health problems has also been settled.
Arctic Fishing and Lithuania's administration maintain that the detention of the ship by Russia in mid-September was unlawful, as armed officers took control of the ship by force. Meanwhile, Russia claims the ship was unlawfully fishing crabs in its territory.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.