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Russian trawler captain ups stakes in scandal with Norway

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MURMANSK, October 18 (RIA Novosti, Yekaterina Kozlova) - The captain of a Russian trawler at the center of a scandal in the Barents Sea said Tuesday that he could not rule out a collision with a Norwegian Coast Guard patrol boat. "I reserve the right to set on a collision course since I no longer hope for any help," the captain of the trawler, the Elektron, said. "The crew will be rescued, if necessary, by the Grigory Arloshkin, that is moving on a parallel course." Norwegian Coast Guards detained the Elektron on Saturday off the Spitsbergen archipelago for allegedly breaching fishing regulations.

Two Norwegian Coast Guard inspectors boarded the trawler and ordered the captain to proceed to the port of Tromso for further investigation.

The captain, however, refused to obey the order, and headed for Russian territorial waters instead. Four Norwegian Coast Guard boats started chasing the trawler and tried to stop it on Monday night.

A spokesman for the Murmansk department of the Federal Security Service said that a patrol ship would be sent to meet the Elektron to take the Norwegian officials and return them home. Then the Elektron will be escorted to the port of Murmansk for further investigation, the spokesman said.

"There is a group of 50 Russian fishing vessels about 100 nautical miles ahead of the trawler," the FSB official said. "Presumably the captain hopes to reach the group and try to get lost among the Russian boats." He added that it would take the Elektron at least 10 to 15 hours to get there in a storm that is affecting the area.

A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said the ministry was in constant contact with the Norwegian authorities, while the Russian navy has ruled out interfering in the situation.

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