Estonia, Legislation, Transport, USA

The detainees are accused of illegally entering Indian waters with a huge cache of arms and ammunition, wrote the Hindustan Times. Earlier reports said all 35 members on board were arrested, but a press release issued by the office of the Tamil Nadu director-general of police said "two crew members were left for upkeep and maintenance of the vessel, till the company makes alternative arrangements for the ship's maintenance". The state government on Friday said the arrested seamen were produced before a magistrate court in Tuticorin and remanded in custody. The central and state police are investigating the case, police officials said, adding that the state has taken the case seriously and has refused to set the sailors free, the Hindustan Times reports.

Estonian consul in New Delhi Margus Särglepp told the Public Broadcasting's news portal that he has reason to believe that the men were arrested. "Neither we nor our partners have managed to find out what they are accused of or why they were taken away. The embassy has contacted the state's authorities to get permission to visit our citizens but that permit hasn't been granted. The answer hasn't arrived yet," he said.

The foreign ministry said that they have had a very short phone conversation with the Estonian men, who didn’t directly ask for help but informed the ministry that Indian authorities have boarded the ship.

The MV Seaman Guard Ohio, an armed ship operated by a US maritime security company AdvanFort, was detained last Friday with 35 people on board by the Coast Guard east of Tuticorin, around 600 km south of Chennai, for failing to produce papers authorising it to carry weapons and ammunition in Indian waters. It was reportedly carrying 31 assault rifles and around 5,000 rounds of ammunition, which the crew allegedly had no documents for. The ship had been in Indian waters for three days without permission and violated several other laws.