MURMANSK, November 28 (RIA Novosti, Yekaterina Kozlova) - The captain of the Elektron trawler that recently evaded arrest in Norwegian waters said Monday he had personally made the decision to disobey the Norwegian authorities.

"The decision was mine - to turn around," Valery Yarantsev told regional television. "We went out to sea not to seize anyone, but to catch fish and earn money," he said.

"There was no detention as such, they just suggested we go to the Tromse port for investigation... But our ships had never before been arrested in that zone. This zone has a special status," Yarantsev said.

In mid-October, the Elektron was accused of violating Norwegian fishing regulations near the Spitsbergen archipelago and pursued by the Norwegian Coast Guard for five days across the Barents Sea with Norwegian inspectors still on board.