Finns held by Iran to be returned to where they stopped

Storm warning still in force in area

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The three Finnish employees of Nokia Siemens Networks who were detained by Iranian authorities after straying into waters claimed by Iran had apparently gone on their fishing trip from Dubai in a small private boat. Coast Guard spokesman Fareh Salah says that the owner of the boar had lent the vessel to the Finns.
      Heikki Puurunen, the Finnish Ambassador in Iran, said on Friday morning that the continued poor weather in the area will probably prevent them from coming back today. It is considered likely that when they are released, the three will be taken back to where they were originally stopped. Iran says that the men are not under arrest, will not be prosecuted, and are free to move around in Iran.
      The men, who were stopped by the Iranians near the island of Abu Musa, had not informed Dubai officials about their planned fishing trip, although Salah says that it would have been advisable to do so.
     
In Dubai, all vessels carrying taking people on sight-seeing or fishing trips need to apply for permission from the Coast Guard before going out to sea. For private boaters it is enough for them to have a local driving licence or passport with them.
      The Finnish Embassy in Abu Dhabi says that the men were still on the island of Abu Musa on Thursday evening.
      "They were there overnight. The reason was the bad weather conditions", said Esa Hurtig, the provisional charge d'affaires at the Embassy.
      Hurtig could not say when the weather would clear up sufficiently for the men to get off the island. A storm alert has been in force in Dubai since Tuesday. Dubai has been spared the heavy storms that caused much damage in Oman.
      The piers of the large International Boat Club of Dubai were full of boats on Thursday, with workers scrubbing the decks in hopes of better weather.
      "Tomorrow it might be possible to go back to sea", pondered Biju Pillai, an employee at the club.
      However, he adds that fishing in the Persian Gulf off Dubai is not as attractive as it was two or three years ago. "The fishing waters are getting worse year by year", Pillai said.
      Fish stocks have been hurt especially by the construction of large artificial islands in the area.
     
The depletion of fish stocks near the shoreline should not push fishermen looking for better catches into Iranian waters, however. Experienced sea captains know that coastal waters of Iran are off limits to them.
      "Some inexperienced people simply make mistakes, because the island of Abu Musa is so close to Dubai. They think that it is safe to go near the island, which is just an hour and a half away", says Calvin Dutlasif of Dubai Voyager, a company that organises fishing tours.
      Newspapers in the United Arab Emirates carried small stories about the capture of the Finns on Thursday.The Khaleej Times said that the Finnish expatriates were freed on Wednesday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Iran releases Finnish businessmen (7.6.2007)
  Iran arrests three Nokia Siemens employees in Persian Gulf (6.6.2007)

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