Ukraine, UK, Estonia to mull Indian court's verdict on ship guards

Photo: Alar Truu/Õhtuleht

Ukrainian diplomats intend to discuss with British and Estonian colleagues the verdict passed by an Indian court on crew and maritime guards of the Seaman Guard Ohio, Yevhen Ignatovsky from the consular service department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

«On January 11 the first-tier court in the Indian city of Tuticorin made a decision in the case of ship guards, sentencing the crew and ship guards, three citizens of Ukraine among them, to five years in jail. The diplomatic missions of Ukraine, Great Britain and Estonia and lawyers are now mapping out further steps to protect the interests of their citizens. The defense plans to appeal against the verdict in the highest court of the state of Tamil Nadu,» Ignatovski told Interfax in a comment.

Police in India's southernmost state Tamil Nadu on Oct. 18, 2013 arrested 35 crew and security personnel of the Seaman Guard Ohio owned by the U.S.-based maritime security company AdvanFort and sent to combat Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The crew includes citizens of India, the UK, Ukraine and Estonia. The whole crew was charged with fuel and weapons smuggling and illegal entry into India's territorial waters. In July 2015 the Supreme Court of India returned the case to the Tuticorin court, ordering it to bring the proceedings to conclusion in six months, i.e. by mid-January 2016.