Lawyers acting for the wife of the captain of a Venezuela-linked oil tanker captured by US forces in UK waters are calling for a judicial review of his situation, claiming he is being detained unlawfully.
The Marinera, a Russian-flagged vessel previously known as Bella 1, has been in the Moray Firth in recent days.
The Moray Firth is a sheltered area of sea between the east Highland coast and the coasts of Moray and Aberdeenshire.
The vessel was captured by US forces earlier this month as it travelled through the waters between Iceland and Scotland.
The sanctioned oil tanker had reportedly been pursued across the Atlantic by US forces, after apparently approaching the naval blockade around Venezuela.
Lawyers acting for Natia Dzadzama, the wife of the vessel’s captain, Avtandil Kalandadze, lodged a petition at the court of session in Edinburgh on Monday to call for a judicial review of his situation.
Aamer Anwar, the solicitor acting on Dzadzama’s behalf, said: “Today we lodged a petition for judicial review of the lawfulness of the detention of Captain Avtandil Kalandadze.
“We submit that Natia Dzadzama’s husband, of Georgian nationality, was unlawfully detained and held by the US navy in Scotland since 7 January, on the marine vessel known as the Marinera and formerly known as Bella 1.
“The captain’s wife is reasonably concerned about her husband’s safety and security on the ship, and today we are seeking the intervention of the Scottish court of session in order to protect the legal rights of her husband.”
The petition submitted to the court alleges that her husband is “unlawfully being held in legal limbo without any recourse to a court or tribunal to vindicate his rights”.
Lawyers are seeking an emergency order to prevent the ship and those on board being removed from the jurisdiction of the Scottish court.
It is hoped a full hearing will take place in the coming days.
During a hearing on Monday evening, Lord Young granted an interim interdict in a restricted form.
He said the interdict prohibits the respondents – the advocate general for Scotland, the lord advocate and the Scottish ministers – or anyone acting on their behalf, from removing the captain and the crew of the Marinera from the territorial jurisdiction of the court.
The UK’s armed forces assisted in the operation in the Atlantic earlier this month but did not board the vessel, which had initially been falsely flying the flag of Guyana before switching to a Russian flag.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service confirmed that a petition for judicial review was lodged with the court on Monday afternoon.
