Russian border guards have detained in the Russian Sea of Okhotsk a Cambodian-flagged vessel suspected of poaching crab, a border guards spokesman said on Monday.
He said fishing vessel Nardin with 18 Russian crew members on board attempted to escape after it was discovered by border guarders. After six-hour pursuit a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) aircraft joined in and forced the suspected poachers to stop.
The detained ship carried equipment for catching and transporting live crab, he said, but the crew did not have any documents permitting fishing.
Russia banned exports of live crab in May 2007, but large volumes are still smuggled out of the country every year, primarily to Japan and South Korea.
