RAY SMUTS
YET ANOTHER bizarre twist in the saga of the arrested Russian vessel Argun has been the discovery of a seriously injured, near-naked, sea captain 20 metres below the porthole of his cabin.
Captain Sergei Freyberg, aged 47, was not the master of the neat-as-a-pin fleet replenishment vessel, under arrest in Cape Town for the past eight months, but employed by a Russian company Oil Compact, currently embroiled in a Cape High Court dispute with the Russian Federation, owners of Argun, for allegedly refusing to surrender another vessel, the Irkutsk, it had allegedly bought.
Freyberg, who has spent five months on the vessel with a South African skeleton crew, was spotted one evening, allegedly drunk and running amok, according to reports.
After intervention by harbour police and a call to the Russian consul who came down to the vessel, Freyberg fell asleep but was found injured early next morning, clad in only in his underpants - giving rise to speculation that he may have attempted suicide.
He sustained a broken vertebra, broken pelvis, broken leg and extensive minor injuries and bruises and is recovering in Groote Schuur Hospital after City Park Hospital had demanded pre-admission payment of R300 000.
Argun's original crew was repatriated to Vladivostok last October, after Captain Freyberg's arrival, but they are said to have resented his presence, resulting in him being left high and dry.
A Cape High Court has since declared Argun the lawful property of the Russian Federation but the matter of almost R2 million in arrears crew salaries will only be considered in May.
Copyright Now Media (Pty) Ltd
No article may be reproduced without the written permission of the editor
To respond to this article send your email to joyo@nowmedia.co.za
