On May 17, the yacht «Elfin», which had been detained in the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan four days earlier, returned to its native Vladivostok. Members of the yacht's crew described how the detention took place.
According to the sailors, it was not the border guards, but local fishermen who really seized them.
«One large vessel approached us first. There were a large number of Koreans on deck, waving their arms, shouting, and their faces were angry. Stones and chairs were thrown at us. A boarding followed. A reel was rammed through. Dozens of blows," said Elfin crew member Alexander Filippenko. - If we had not negotiated peacefully, we would have been torn apart».
The appearance of the military saved the Russians from aggressive fishermen. The Coast Guard interrogated the captain of «Elfin» Dmitry Nazarov, and then towed the Russian yacht to Kimchak, first taking away the crew's cell phones. One of the crew members managed to hide a mobile phone and used it to call Vladivostok for help.
«It was a true piracy - there is no other word I can use to describe it», - said Dmitry Nazarov.
Recall that North Korean authorities attributed the incident «to a misunderstanding». According to the leadership of the Department of Foreign Relations of Hamgen-Pukdo, local fishermen noticed inscriptions in the Korean language on a passing yacht and decided to be vigilant.
The yacht «Elfin» was hijacked May 13 in international waters within the DPRK's exclusive economic zone, 80 miles off the coast. A Yamaha 28S sports sailing yacht was returning to Vladivostok from the Busan Super Cup regatta that was held on May 5-8 in South Korea's Pusan. The crew of «Elfin» performed well in these competitions, taking 6th place.
