Ukraine to keep Mekhanik Pogodin ship in its port for three years

The Ukrainian authorities will keep the Mekhanik Pogodin vessel in its port city of Kherson for three years, the so-called first deputy Ukrainian president’s envoy to Crimea, Izet Gdanov, said on Saturday. “On August 10, the asset of this company, namely the Mekhanik Pogodin vessel, was blocked for three years in the port of Kherson,” he said in a comment to Ukraine’s Public Radio. The operating company, V.F. Tanker, earlier said that the ship’s crew had denied entry to a port inspection, because it lacked lawful reasons. Gdanov described the crew’s actions as illegal and claimed that they would “bear responsibility in line with the current legislation.”