Estonians in Southern Waters: Counterpiracy Ship Detained
Fourteen Estonian guards working for a marine security firm found themselves in the international news on Sunday as India detained a ship off the coast of the southern Tamil Nadu state to check whether it had paperwork authorizing the armed vessel to enter territorial waters.
The company is the US-registered Advanfort, which has actively recruited former naval personnel in Estonia, as reported in an ETV program from 2011. Besides the Estonians, the ship, the Sierra Leone-flagged Seaman Guard Ohio, was also crewed by British, Ukrainian and Indian nationals.
The ship was detained on Friday night, according to reports in Reuters and The Hindu. The formalities and communication appeared to be disrupted by the aftermath of the typhoon that hit northeastern India, with at least 24 hours elapsing before Advanfort produced papers.
Advanfort released a statement saying that the stop was in fact an intervention by Indian authorities that allowed the ship to take on fuel and escape the effects of Typhoon Phaillin.
As of Monday morning there was no confirmation on the status of the ship.