Soviet Union Frees Japanese Fishing Boat, Crew of 23
The Soviet Union freed a Japanese fishing boat and its 23 crew members after the owner paid a fine equivalent to $307,000 and the captain admitted the boat operated illegally in Soviet waters, officials said Thursday.
The 349-ton No. 15 Kyowa Maru was seized Jan. 24 by two Soviet patrol boats while fishing about 70 miles south of Paramushir, a small island off the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Zenji Yoshida of the fishery cooperative in Onahama, northern Japan, said the skipper, Yasushi Ankai, radioed Wednesday night that the boat was under way and the crew was in good health.
Under accords reached between Japan and the Soviet Union last December, Japanese fishing boats are allowed to operate within strictly limited areas of the Soviet Union’s 200-mile economic zone.
Last year, the Soviet Union seized nine Japanese fishing boats carrying a total of 67 crewmen. It still holds one of those boats and three crew members.
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