Russia demands deposit money for releasing Japanese fishing boat,crew

MOSCOW, Feb. 4 Kyodo - Russia has demanded that Japan pay deposit money for the return of a
crab-fishing boat and the release of its captain and crew after the vessel was
seized by Russia in the Sea of Japan on Jan. 27, a Japanese source said
Wednesday.
Japan is negotiating with Russia over the issue. It is not clear how much money
Russia has proposed via diplomatic channels to the owner company of the Yoshi
Maru No. 38, which was seized by Russia with the captain and nine crew members
aboard on suspicion of fishing in its exclusive economic zone without
authorization.
If the owner of the boat -- Hiyoshi Suisan fishery firm based in Sakaiminato,
Tottori Prefecture -- accepts the payment demand and remits the deposit money,
Russia would have to swiftly release the captain and crew based on the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea.
But if the company thinks the money demanded is too much, it could also file a
lawsuit with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg,
Germany, for a legal judgment on the issue.
According to a Japanese diplomatic source, Russian border guard authorities
started procedures last month to seek administrative penalty on the company on
suspicion of illegal fishing.
If acknowledged that such an act is worth imposing the penalty, the authorities
are expected to seek payment for damages or a fine. So far, there is no
information that Russia has built a criminal case against the boat's captain or
others.
Russian authorities have taken the boat to Nakhodka port in Russia's Far East
and questioned the captain and crew about why they entered the exclusive
economic zone without documents that permit fishing.
The 10 are effectively detained inside the boat, and the Japanese government is
seeking their early release.
The 122-ton Yoshi Maru No. 38 was seized in the Sea of Japan some 480
kilometers north of the city, according to the Tottori prefectural government.
==Kyodo