A spokesman for the Primorye Shipping Company said 10 armed men wearing the back uniforms of the Guinean Navy, climbed aboard the Luchegorsk tanker and told the captain that it had illegally entered another country's economic zone.
They demanded $20,000 from the captain, but he said he only had $7,000. The group then took over the tanker's communications unit and ordered it to set the course for Conakry, the capital of Guinea.
"Guinea officials have claimed that the Russian vessel entered into the economic zone of Sierra Leone," the spokesman said. "The captain of the Russian tanker has denied the violation."
He also said that in addition to the Russians, there was one Chinese citizen aboard the tanker.
The tanker Luchegorsk, which belongs to the Primorye Shipping Company, is leased by a Swiss company. It supplies fuel to vessels working in Sierra Leone's economic zone and has a valid license for such operations.
The Russian consul has arrived at the port of Conakry to establish whether the detention was lawful.
