Azerbaijan has sent a note of protest to Eritrea regarding the arrest of three ships sailing under the flag of Azerbaijan, the official representative of the country's Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizade said.
He emphasized that on November 7 last year, the vessels "CMS Pahlavan", "CMS Igid" and "CMS-3" operated by "Caspian Marine Services B.V." by the Azerbaijani branch of the company and carrying the state flag of Azerbaijan, traveling from the Suez Canal in the direction of the UAE, had to enter the territorial waters of Eritrea due to worsening weather conditions.
"Despite the fact that the Eritrean port authorities were contacted in advance, after the ships entered the territorial waters, Eritrea declared that the ships were illegal and they were detained 18 crew members are citizens of Azerbaijan," Hajizade said.
