COPENHAGEN, 06 November 2021, (TON): Danish authorities said that a Russian science vessel, currently held in Denmark, had been detained due to a legal dispute in Canada.

A judge at the district court in the city of Hjorring told media she had ordered the seizure of the ship on Monday, to be kept as collateral in a case brought by a Canadian tour operator.

The Russian embassy in Denmark confirmed the detention of the state-owned research vessel Akademik Ioffe, saying the action “was carried out as an interim measure in a third-party claim.”

One Ocean Expeditions, which had previously rented the Russian state-owned Akademik Ioffe via a Cypriot company for cruises, blames the crew of the ship for an accident that occurred in Canada’s north in 2018.

According to court documents seen by AFP, the tour operator is demanding 39.6 million Danish kroner ($6.2 million, 5.3 million euros) in damages from the ship’s owner, Russia’s Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, for costs incurred in relation to the accident.

“This is a claim against an independent institution owned by the Russian state, so the possibilities of enforcement are very limited if you don’t have the ship as collateral,” the Danish court explained in its decision to seize the ship.

The court also notes “the rules on state immunity are not applicable,” even though the vessel is state-owned, as this is a strictly commercial dispute.