Russian crew of a molasses tanker has been kept on board the ship for a month after the vessel was arrested in Puerto Rico for alleged violations of U.S. ecology legislation.
Carib Vision is a molasses tanker with a crew of 17 Russian sailors.
"The vessel with a Russian crew on board was detained in Puerto Rico in a course of a routine inspection due to alleged issues with environmental compliance," Anastasia Kitsul, Russia's honorary consul in Puerto Rico, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
"The ship has been detained in Puerto Rico since November 6, but we were informed of the current situation by a third party only on December 2," she said, adding that the crew cannot leave the ship because the sailors do not have U.S. visas.
Kitsul said that formal charges had not been pressed yet. The Russian consulate in the United States is seeking to identify a lawyer for stranded sailors.
Carib Vision sails under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a tiny island nation in the Caribbean.
WASHINGTON, December 7 (RIA Novosti)
