The Georgian Coast Guard seized the Russian Grot fishing boat and the Ukrainian SUAR-2 boat at about 11 a.m. Moscow time (8 a.m. GMT) Wednesday. Both vessels, with crews of eight and 10 respectively, were towed to the Georgian port of Poti.
"According to available information, a hearing at which a judge will decide whether to launch a criminal case or not could happen as early as Saturday," said Valery Vasilyev, head of the consular department at the Russian Embassy in Georgia.
The Georgian border police earlier claimed to have discovered six metric tons of illegal catch on board the Grot, which is registered at Russia's southern port of Novorossiisk.
Authorities said the sailors could be charged with illegally crossing the maritime border, illegally fishing in Georgian territorial waters and violating international maritime regulations.
The Russian diplomat said eight Russian and 10 Ukrainian sailors are being held in a pre-trial detention center in Poti awaiting a hearing.
"They [the sailors] have been assigned a state defense lawyer and an interpreter," Vasilyev said. "They are being questioned [by investigators]."
The incident could mark a further escalation in an ongoing political and economic standoff between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.
Relations between Georgia and Russia have been strained ever since the Western-leaning government of President Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in 2003.
Last March, Russia banned Georgian wines and mineral water, allegedly for failing to meet sanitary norms, dealing a heavy blow to the ex-Soviet republic's fragile economy.
And in September 2006, the arrest of four Russian officers on spying charges was followed by the expulsion of hundreds of Georgian nationals residing in Russia illegally, the severing of rail and postal links between the two countries, and the closure of several Moscow casinos and restaurants allegedly owned by the Georgian mafia.
Relations deteriorated even further when Tbilisi subsequently threatened to withdraw its support for Russia's WTO bid.
