Russian Military Stops Icelandic Freezer Trawler

An Icelandic freezer trawler strayed a little too far into Russian territory, and was stopped and boarded by a military ship yesterday evening.

RÚV reports that the ice trawler Þerney RE-1 was on its way to Kirkenes in Norway. Kirkenes is very close to the Russian border with Norway, and it is apparently fairly easy to end up on the wrong side of that line.

Þerney was stopped by the Russian military and boarded. The timing of Þerney’s mishap is unfortunate, as the Russian military is conducting exercises in the region.

The captain of Þerney told reporters he was confident the matter will be resolved soon. As Þerney is an ice trawler, it has no military nor intelligence-gathering capabilities, and as such poses no threat to the Russian Federation.