Russia has apparently seized four tugboats belonging to a subsidiary of the Danish shipping giant Maersk. The four ships were on duty under a long-term contract for the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East.
The shipping company had been trying unsuccessfully to divest itself of the operation there for a year before the shipping company abandoned its efforts in mid-April and ceased operations. The Danish shipping company is currently struggling with slumps in sales and profits, with sales falling by 26 percent to 14.2 billion dollars.