SUKHUMI. Jan 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgian warships stopped two Russian seine-boats on Wednesday near the territorial waters of breakaway Abkhazia.
The Abkhaz State Security Service told Interfax that the incident occurred at about 11 a.m. Moscow time (0800 GMT) off the coast of Gali district.
A spokesman for the service said that the names of the boats are PTR-Grot and SUAR-2 and they have crews of eight and ten respectively.
"Having violated the territorial waters of Abkhazia Georgian warships approached two Russian seine-boats, seized them and towed them in the direction of Poti," he said.
Meanwhile, the Georgian side reports that Georgian border guards stopped one Russian and one Ukrainian fishing boat.
The Coast Guard Service told Interfax that the vessels had been detained "for illegally crossing the maritime border and illegally fishing in Georgian territorial waters off the coast of Abkhazia." The vessels are being convoyed to a customs pier in Poti.
A spokesman for the coast guards said the owners of the boats must pay a fine or face confiscation of their vessels.
The Coast Guard Service detained over 60 foreign ships in Georgian territorial waters in 2006. After paying fines, all of them were released.