KYIV. Sept 5 (Interfax) - Officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Odessa border guards the have freed the people earlier taken hostage during a revolt onboard a Turkish vessel, the SBU press service said on Monday.
Four crewmembers were injured, according to some reports, the SBU said.
On September 4, an SOS signal was received from a boat flying the Turkish flag. The cargo vessel was carrying metal structures from Mykolaiv, Ukraine to Jordan.
"According to preliminary information, at about midnight, two crewmembers started to fight onboard the vessel and stabbed four of their colleagues. Of those four, three are in a moderately grave condition. Having done that, the perpetrators cut off the power on the boat and took five people hostage. Part of the crew barricaded themselves in, seeking shelter from the assailants," the SBU press service said.
After holding an emergency meeting with the participation of representatives of the State Border Guard Service, the Emergency Situations Ministry and the Yuzhny port administration, the SBU antiterrorist headquarters for the Odesa region decided to use force in order to release the captured crewmembers.
The storming of the Turkish boat was successful and members of the Alfa special-forces unit freed hostages and detained 'rebels'. The stabbed Turkish sailors were given first aid.
Police has launched a criminal inquiry under the 'Hijacking or Takeover of Sea Vessel' article of the Ukrainian Criminal Code. Investigative actions are underway.
The press service of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service also disclosed some details of the incident. Yesterday, the service learned about the emergency situation on the Turkish boat, which was then 11 miles away from the port of Odesa. The captain of the boat sailing under the Turkish flag signaled that the lives of people onboard the vessel were in danger. The Turkish Consulate General in Odesa then sent further information, stating that two crewmembers armed with knives had allegedly stabbed several other crewmembers.
The Odesa Maritime Border Guard detachment sent a tactical group to where the boat was located.
Andriy Stavnitser, chief of Terminals TIS Group, a chain of port terminals operating at the Yuzhny port, reported earlier that there had been a revolt onboard the Mehmet Unlu vessel.
"Apparently, there was a revolt and a knife fight happening. Part of the crew (mainly the Turks) cut off the power onboard the vessel and barricaded themselves inside. The vessel was adrift around the entrance to the Port of Yuzhny. The dispatchers at the port called for the tugboat Champion, which came to rescue and towed the vessel away from the rocks. Eyewitnesses say that the vessel was around the entrance to the port at the time. The tugboat's crew said the entire cabin was covered in blood. The captain lost a lot of blood but is alive," Stavnitser said.
According to information from open sources, the cargo vessel 'Mehmet Unlu' was built in 2000 and flies the flag of Turkey. The boat's length is 108 meters and its breadth is 17 meters.