Court frees Naftogaz-67 captain on bail

A court of appeals in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has released Yuriy Kulemesin, the convicted captain of the Ukrainian Naftogaz-67 tugboat, on bail.

A court meeting took place on February 26, the Ukrainian Transport and Communications Ministry's press service said.

As reported, the owner of the Ukrainian ship, Chornomornaftogaz, earlier challenged a court sentence for the Ukrainian captain.

The Naftogaz-67 tugboat and the Chinese Yao Hai bulk cargo ship collided in the South China Sea near Hong Kong on March 22, 2008. The Ukrainian vessel sank within minutes. Of the 25 people on board the ship, seven of them, including six Ukrainians and one Chinese citizen, were rescued. The bodies of the 15 Ukrainian sailors who were drowned were found late in April.

In January 2010, the District Court in Hong Kong found the captains of both ships and two pilots guilty of a maritime disaster.

Kulemesin was sentenced to three years and two months in jail. The Chinese ship's captain and pilot were both jailed for two years and four months, while another pilot from the Yao Hai was sentenced to three years in prison.