The Svenja, owned by Kamchatka's Yacht Racing Federation, was seized while docking on the Eritrean coast after running out of fuel in stormy weather, according to a radio message received by a nearby Russian ship, which then informed Kamchatka authorities of the incident by e-mail.
"The yacht has been released, and we will report further details later," said Igor Mozgo, Russia's charge d'affaires in the northeast African country.
After the initial reports, it was uncertain whether Eritrean authorities or an armed group had detained the crew. The two men, one of whom is the yacht federation's chief Yevgeny Panchenko, had their identification documents and navigation charts seized by armed people.
A spokeswoman for the Kamchatka Region's governor said earlier the Russian ambassador to the country has informed the United Nations about the situation, and had promised to keep the governor informed on further developments.
