US remove tanker captain from UK waters as crew set to leave Scotland

The captain and first officer of a Russian-flagged oil tanker have been taken out of UK territory by US Coast Guards.

The Americans seized the vessel, the Marinera, on 7 January south of Iceland before sailing it to the Moray coast, east of Inverness.

The US Department of Justice told Scottish authorities on Tuesday morning that the skipper, Avtandil Kalandadze, and his unnamed colleague were on board the US Coast Guard vessel Munro.

Scotland's Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the episode had shown a lack of respect for "Scottish jurisdiction and Scots law".

On Monday, the Court of Session in Edinburgh imposed an order banning the UK and Scottish authorities from removing the crew from Scottish jurisdiction, at the request of the captain's wife Natia Dzadzamia.

At a second virtual hearing on Tuesday, the court was told that the US Department Justice emailed Scotland's prosecution service at 03:04 to confirm the captain and first officer had been taken off the Marinera on to the Munro.

Solicitor General Ruth Charteris KC asked for the interim interdict to be recalled.

She said: "In short, they are no longer in the territorial jurisdiction of this court."

Charteris told the court that the US authorities had approached the Crown Office for mutual legal assistance - the process which normally kick-starts extradition proceedings - on 16 January.

But she added that request was subsequently withdrawn by the Americans on Monday.

Acting for Natia Dzadzamia, Claire Mitchell KC said the American request for mutual legal assistance raised the question of whether the men had been under the control of the Scottish authorities.

The solicitor general said: "The Crown Office and Scottish Ministers (Scottish government) have never at any point detained any of the 26 or the captain or first officer and have never had them under their control."

The judge, Lord Young, agreed to lift the order.

Constance said she had "deep concerns and frustrations" over a "lack of communication" surrounding the incident.

She said the Scottish government had "not been furnished with full information" and had to rely on updates from its UK colleagues.

She added that no notice had been given that the US was going to sail the vessel into Scottish waters.

Constance said: "We have a number of questions, we have a number of concerns and deep frustrations about how this matter has evolved, because it is a matter of significant public interest and confidence.

"The Scottish government wants to play our part in international justice because that is appropriate and responsible.

"But that starts with the recognition and respect that must be afforded to Scottish jurisdiction and Scots law."

The 26 remaining crew members of the ship - said to be from Russia, India, Georgia and Ukraine - have asked to leave the UK on a voluntary basis.

The men had been held by immigration officials at a hotel in Moray.

Arrangements are now being made to fly five of them from Scotland to the US and the remainder to their home countries.

Earlier a group of men were seen leaving a hotel in Elgin, a short distance from RAF Lossiemouth.

After the hearing, solicitor Aamer Anwar, representing the captain's wife, said the events raised "serious constitutional and legal concerns".

The Glasgow-based human rights lawyer added: "Our client's judicial review can no longer be enforced now her husband has in essence been abducted by the US government on Scottish and British territory.

"For over two weeks a vessel guarded by a foreign military force remained in Scottish territorial waters, during which time no effective steps were taken by the authorities to assert jurisdiction or protect the legal rights of those aboard."

Anwar also said Kalandadze and the first officer were moved in "within a matter of hours" of the petition for judicial review being received by the Court of Session.

He added: "It should not fall to the wife of a detained captain to compel scrutiny of this international scandal."

Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer accused the US government of committing "piracy on sea and gangsterism on land".

He said: "If the US government has essentially just kidnapped two people without even telling our government about it, that raises serious concerns over whether US troops should even be allowed on Scottish soil at all."

The tanker, formerly known as the Bella 1, was last spotted off Burghead at the weekend.

The US authorities have accused the vessel of breaching sanctions by carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran.

Before Monday's hearing, in a statement released by lawyer Aamer Anwar, the captain's wife said she believed it cannot be right "in a civilised society to abduct a whole crew in Scotland and, with assistance from the UK authorities, remove them without observing our laws".

The UK government backed the operation to seize the tanker, saying it was lawful action against a vessel involved in breaking sanctions.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) provided operational support and US planes used UK airfields, including some in Scotland.

But Moscow denounced the seizure, demanding that the US treat Russians aboard properly and allow them to return to Russia quickly.

The Russian transport ministry said it had given the vessel "temporary permission" to use the Russian flag, adding that no state had the right to use force against vessels properly registered in other states' jurisdictions.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Deterring, disrupting, and degrading the Russian shadow fleet is a priority for this government.

"Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response to shadow vessels – and we will continue to do so.

"At the request of the US authorities, crew members have been allowed to disembark for onwards travel. They will be processed in line with all appropriate immigration and legal requirements."

First Minister John Swinney is due to make a statement in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.

He previously said he was "deeply concerned" to learn from media reports that the tanker was in the Moray Firth.

He said he would have expected to have been told in advance about steps to accommodate the ship in the firth.

Last week Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said he wrote to the SNP leader to offer him a meeting, but he did not accept.

The UK government previously said that the tanker had entered UK waters to take on fresh supplies.

It is understood US military aircraft landed at small civilian airports in Wick, Caithness, and Benbecula in the Western Isles during the operation on 7 January.

At the time the MoD confirmed that the Royal Navy tanker RFA Tideforce and RAF surveillance aircraft were supporting American personnel and that "deterring, disrupting and degrading" Russia's "shadow fleet" was a priority.

The Marinera has been in the firth off Burghead, a village on the Moray coast.

The Moray Firth is a sheltered area of sea between the east Highland coast and the coasts of Moray and Aberdeenshire.