(Adds new information in first 5 paragraphs) MURMANSK, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Elektron trawler is heading for Murmansk, a Russian port on the Barents Sea, according to an order from the owner, Kors, a fleet supervisor said, referring to a radio message from the captain. "According to the ship owner's instructions, I am heading for the Murmansk port accompanied by two Norwegian patrol boats," the message said. The captain said the Norwegian vessels had not attempted to catch the trawler since 4 a.m. Moscow time.
The storm in the area has subsided, the officer added.
"The trawler is at a distance of about 15 nautical miles from the shore. Given the weather conditions, it will take the ship 13-15 hours to reach Russia's territorial waters," the officer said.
The Elektron trawler was detained by the Norwegian Coast Guard on Saturday off the Spitsbergen archipelago for allegedly breaching fishing regulations, but the captain refused to obey orders and headed for Russian territorial waters Monday. Norwegian ships have been in pursuit since then.
A Russian FSB official in Murmansk admitted Tuesday that the captain of the Elektron had acted illegally.
"Since the Norwegian Coast Guard officers discovered violations of fishing regulations, particularly the smaller size of the cells in the trail net, the captain of the trawler should have agreed and proceeded to a Norwegian port," he said.
Russia's large anti-submarine ship, the Admiral Levchenko, has departed from the city of Severomorsk for the Barents Sea to prevent the unauthorized entry of foreign ships to Russia's territorial waters.
An assistant to the Russian naval chief said the ship's mission was not related to the incident of the Russian trawler. "The Navy is not interfering in the situation with the Elektron trawler," Captain 1st Class Igor Dygalo said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped the incident would be resolved through ongoing negotiations.
"The relevant Russian authorities will certainly investigate the situation," Lavrov said, adding that Russia believed experts from both countries should hold consultations on the fishing regime around the Spitsbergen archipelago.
The minister said the incident had occurred in an area that Norway had declared a fishing-free zone. "We have never agreed with the norms that Norwegians had unilaterally established in the area. We were in talks over these issues," he said.
Russia and Norway agreed in Soviet times that any problems in the area had to be resolved through requests and inquiries. "This was the case until recently," Lavrov said.
Norway's Foreign Ministry played down the incident Tuesday, saying it was not treating it as a conflict between the two countries. "...This is just a fishery boat that has violated the law and is being treated accordingly," he said.
