The Russian Embassy in France confirmed that the Russian cargo ship was detained in the English Channel, the consular department contacted the French authorities in order to obtain clarification, the diplomatic mission told RIA Novosti.

Earlier, the media reported on the detention of a Russian ship in the English Channel.

“The embassy received an emergency call from the captain of a Russian dry cargo ship, in which he announced the detention of the vessel by the French authorities in the English Channel,” the embassy said.

They noted that the consular department of the embassy immediately contacted the French authorities in order to obtain clarification on this issue.

“The results will be announced additionally,” the diplomatic mission added.

Information about the detention of the ship was confirmed to TASS at the Russian Embassy in France. “The embassy received an emergency call from the captain of a Russian dry cargo ship, he reported the detention of the vessel by the French authorities in the English Channel. The consular department of the embassy immediately contacted the French authorities in order to obtain clarification on this issue,” said the head of the press service of the embassy, Alexander Makogonov.

RBC turned to the Russian Embassy in France, the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture (Préfecture maritime de l’Atlantique), the Maritime Prefecture of the English Channel, and the North Sea (Préfecture maritime de la Manche et Mer du Nord) for comment.

According to France Bleu, we are talking about the cargo ship Baltic Leader. According to the VesselFinder and MarineTraffic services, it is located in Boulogne-sur-Mer and should sail to St. Petersburg. The homeport is Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.