SOVIET SHIP DETAINED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 145, 1 April 1948, Page 5

SOVIET SHIP DETAINED

PASSENGERS’ WRIT FOR DAMAGES (Rec. 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, March 31. The Soviet Government has protested to the United States against the detention of the 17,870-ton Soviet ship Rossia in the United States. The Moscow radio, announcing this, said that the Rossia was being unlawfully detained on the basis of a writ obtained by two passengers who claimed damages for having been injured on board during a storm. The radio added that the Soviet Note of protest demanded the immediate withdrawal of the detention order and also an assurance against a recurrence of such incidents. The Note also said that the vessel belonged to a foreign State, and thus enjoyed legal immunity. Officials in Washington explained tonight that the Rossia was being held because of a Federal Court order requiring the ship’s agents to provide a bond of 75,000 dollars to cover suits for damages by two passengers, who claimed that they had been injured aboard the vessel, and that she was unseaworthy and undermanned. The officials said that was the normal procedure in such cases, and was no concern of the State Department.