The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered the release of Russian ship MV MAIA-I, which had been detained here for non-payment of fuel charges of around ₹1.87 crore to an Estonian firm.
The court withdrew its order for the arrest and detention of the ship that carried arms for the Indian Navy, following the settlement of disputes between the supplier of fuel and the Russian vessel over fuel charge payment.
Speaking to Russian news agency TASS, Moscow’s Consul General in Chennai Oleg Avdeev said the crew were not disturbed during the episode. Russian Embassy on Tuesday had requested India to respect the rights of the crew. “The sailors stayed on board and were provided with everything they needed.”