S. Korea coastguard detains 4 sailors from Russian vessel

South Korea’s coastguard detained four Russian sailors from the Polladiy vessel for trying to leave the Port of Busan without the authorities’ permission, Russian Consul Roman Bykov said on Wednesday. “Four crew members have been detained, including the ship owner, the captain, a senior mechanic and one of sailors,” Bykov said. They have been accused of putting up resistance to police and sent to a pre-trial detention center, TASS reported. The remaining 10 crew members are onboard the vessel, which is on the berth. The consul said that Polladiy is in debt to a South Korean company, which had repaired the vessel, and also has to pay an environmental fine for spilled fuel. The tanker, owned by Daltrans company and registered in Vladivostok, was detained over wage arrears. Early on Wednesday, it reportedly tried to leave South Korea without registering the departure and ignored the authorities’ demand to return to the port.