Georgian border guards detain former captain of seized tanker Buket

Georgian coastal guard officers have detained  Ilgar  Imanverdiyev,  a  citizen  of  Azerbaijan  and a former captain  of  the tanker Buket, in the Batumi port, the press service for the Georgian Border Guard Service has reported according to Interfax.

The  detention  was  made  aboard  the  Sierra-Leone-flagged tanker Edirne.

The  tanker Buket was seized by the Georgian coast guard last week. The Georgian  authorities  accused the captain and the crew of illegally visiting  Abkhazia  and  taking some 3,000 tonnes of fuel from Turkey to the Sukhumi port on June 15.

Imanverdiyev  and  the  Buket  crew are currently under arrest. The trial of  their  case  is  scheduled  to  take place in the Poti port on August 31.

Source: Port News