The Saturn vessel is kept in the Angolan port of Luanda since August 25th, 2003. At present the part of the crew remain in Angola, demanding the fulfillment of the contractual obligations from the company, which had hired them and then went bust.
The Russian Embassy and Foreign Ministry continue the talks with ex- and present owners of the vessel in order to help the remaining sailors to return to Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry disclosed.
"As a result of efforts, taken by the Russian Embassy in Angola, five Saturn crew members were sent to Moscow on February 11th and four more on February 13th. The remaining five crew members are hosted at the shipyard of the Luanda port. They are provided with food and water," the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
The crew of the Russian Saturn vessel was formed in Kaliningrad (Russian port-city on the Baltic Sea). "Before January 12th, 2004 the vessel belonged to the Technopark International Limited company, which has a representation on Moscow," the Russian Foreign Ministry disclosed.
Due to the company's insolvency, which owes to the local company in South African Republic $400,000 for repairs, the vessel was at first turned to a South African company and then sold to an Indian company as scrap, the Russian Foreign Ministry explained.
