According to the Dutch sailing magazine Lines the Russian couple were taken by the military police (Koninklijke Marechaussee) on an aeroplane to Moscow after being rescued twice from the Wadden Sea. The Russians were travelling from Montenegro to the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad in their Albin Vega. Due to sanctions against Russia, an entry ban applies in the Netherlands, as in the entire EU. The boat is still moored in the harbour of Ameland.
The pair set off from Montenegro in June, passed through Gibraltar in mid-July and finally reached Dutch waters at the beginning of October. There they are immediately targeted by the military police and are checked for the first time near IJmuiden. The Albin Vega is not allowed to call at a harbour due to sanctions.
Russian sailors down on their luck, or spies?
The Russians apparently lose their bearings in the Wadden Sea and run aground on a sandbank near Terschelling on 12 October. They capsize, whereupon the unwelcome sailors send out a distress call. The Dutch sea rescuers (KNRM) are deployed and tow the boat to a harbour on Terschelling. However, the authorities order the sailors to leave the harbour a few days later.
On the night of 15 to 16 October, they get into trouble again. The engine goes on strike and the sails tear. Another distress call is made. This time they are towed to Ameland harbour by the rescuers. However, the Russians are not allowed to disembark. Instead, the boat is turned upside down by the police for the third time after IJmuiden and Terschelling. Rumours spread that they might be spies.
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Nevertheless, the isolated sailors are supplied with food by other harbour berth holders and the harbour master. They communicate via the translation programme Google Translate. Due to the poor condition of the Albin Vega, the coastguard finally decides that it is no longer seaworthy and prohibits it from continuing its journey.
Military police spokesman Robert van Kapel told the newspaper Tubantia"As soon as the sailors arrive, border control begins. Normally, they could have been sent back on the water, but that was really not possible this time." On 18 October, they were officially informed that they had to leave the Netherlands. They are flown to Moscow via Istanbul.
The Albin Vega will remain under the supervision of the military police on Ameland, while the state will pay the mooring fees. The future of the ship will probably have to be clarified through diplomatic channels.
