Ten armed men wearing the back uniforms of the Guinean Navy boarded the Luchegorsk on August 22 and took it to the port of Conakry, where the captain was charged with illegal operation in the country's economic zone.
But a ministry statement said today, "On September 2, at 14:30 [local time], in the city of Conakry, the Russian tanker Luchegorsk, along with its crew of 19, was released by the Guinean authorities."
On August 24, Andrei Sychev, deputy general director of the Primorye Shipping Company, the ship's owners, said the captain had proved that at the moment of detention the vessel was in the economic zone of a neighboring state - Sierra Leone and that the charges against him had been dropped.
But he said the Guinean authorities had claimed the Swiss company that had leased the tanker had been engaged in illegal operations supplying fuel and water to vessels working in the country's territorial waters.
There were 19 Russians and one Chinese citizen on board the tanker when armed men seized it
The men 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.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said diplomats had made considered efforts with the leasing company to protect the interests and rights of the Russian nationals and that the ministry would continue to work with the authorities in Guinea to secure an exhaustive explanation of the incident.
