A Turkish fishing schooner has been apprehended by Ukrainian border guards. Podillya, the Sea Guard ship, found Ozgur fishing vessel (under Turkey’s flag) 50 miles to southeast from Zmiyiny Island in the Ukrainian economic zone. After appropriate stop signals were sent the schooner stopped, and an inspection group boarded it.

The fishing vessel having 4 crew and a master is registered in the port of Istanbul. Its length is about 15 m. Two poacher trawls and dry ice stock were found in the vessel’s bilges. No fish was found aboard.

Deserving attention is the fact that the Sea Guard ship Bukovyna had already detained Turkish vessel Buyuk-Ozgur belonging to the same ship-owner for illegal fishing in the same area almost a year ago.

At that time, 380 kilos of turbot flatfish, nets and dry ice had been found aboard the ship. After a court decision was made, the shipmaster paid 125 thousand hryvnias of a fine and reimbursed all the damages, and the trespasser was expelled away from the economic zone.

The Ozgur detention event covered by the international border cooperation line has been communicated to the Turkish Coastal Guards and the Defense Attache’s Office at the Turkish Embassy in Ukraine. Information has also been provided to coastal guard partners of the Black Sea states.