"The Russian Embassy in Nigeria said the trial of the Russian crew of the Greek tanker the African Pride, who were detained in that country in October 2003, has been changed from October 21 to a later date because of the current seminar of Nigerian judges," the ministry's information and press department said.
The Russian Embassy said the sailors and their families handled the news calmly.
The former crew of the African Pride, which was sailing under a Panamanian flag, was detained 31 miles off the Nigerian coast October 8, 2003, after a large amount of crude oil was found on board. The crew was arrested on suspicion of oil smuggling and placed in a high-security detention facility. The Greek owner of the tanker escaped from Nigeria aboard the vessel.
The seamen were released on bail in September, with the Russian Embassy acting as their surety, and are being accommodated in a guesthouse of Russia's trade mission in the Nigerian capital of Lagos, until the trial.
