Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency has come to an agreement with the French authorities to have drinking water delivered to the Russian trawler detained in Senegal.
The crew of the Oleg Naydyonov trawler was on the verge of running out of water, because the West African nation's security forces have blocked all supplies to the ship, Interfax reported Wednesday.
The trawler is moored at a pier controlled by the Senegalese military, which can grant or deny access to the ship by land, the report said.
However, a French battleship that is also docked at the port in Dakar will restock the ship, Itar-Tass reported Thursday. The Russian agency has requested 30 tons of water for the Oleg Naydyonov.
The trawler's crew on Wednesday complained about being unable to dispose of garbage, even though it had paid local utility agencies for that service. However, the Senegalese authorities have now agreed to get rid of the ship's waste within one day.
The Senegalese military seized the Oleg Naydyonov last week for supposed illegal fishing and has threatened to fine it $830,000, saying the trawler was a "repeat offender."
Senegal loses 120 billion CFA francs ($250 million) each year to illegal fishing, mostly perpetrated by ships from the former Soviet bloc, Reuters reported.
The Senegalese authorities decided to pull out of a meeting with Russian officials scheduled for Tuesday, and no new date for negotiations about the dispute has been set, the fisheries officials said.
