‘Hostage diplomacy’? Russia’s seizure of Japanese trawler raises eyebrows as Russian arrested over fishermen’s deaths

Moscow’s embassy in Tokyo on Monday demanded that Japan not ‘politicise’ the incident following the arrest of a Russian sailor over the three deaths

Russia, in turn, has been accused by observers of ‘hostage diplomacy’ for seizing a Japanese trawler with 14 crew aboard two days after the fatal crash

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The Russian cargo ship Amur pictured after colliding with Japanese crab fishing vessel Hokko Maru No. 8 in the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Japan’s Hokkaido island, on May 26. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Published: 7:37pm, 8 Jun 2021Updated: 8:26pm, 8 Jun 2021

A diplomatic dispute has erupted between Russia and Japan after three Japanese fishermen were killed in a collision with a Russian ship.

Moscow’s embassy in Tokyo on Monday demanded that Japan not “politicise” the incident following the arrest of a Russian sailor charged with causing the deaths. Russia, in turn, has been accused by observers of “hostage diplomacy” for seizing a Japanese trawler with 14 crew aboard two days after the fatal collision.

Pavel Dobrianski, 38, was detained on Monday after Japanese investigators determined he was in command of the 662-tonne Amur when it hit the 9.7-tonne Hokko Maru No. 8 at around 6am on May 26.

Only two of the smaller Japanese vessel’s five crew survived the crash, with no injuries reported among the 23 crewmen on board the Russian ship.

A court in the port of Mombetsu in Hokkaido, where the Amur was heading with a cargo of seafood from Sakhalin at the time of the collision, ordered the ship’s seizure pending a compensation claim.

Japanese crab fishing vessel Hokko Maru No. 8 is seen overturned after the fatal collision on May 26. Photo: Kyodo News via AP