By John Helmer, Moscow “I have always been fond of the West African proverb, ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; and you will go far.’” That was Theodore Roosevelt in January 1900, when he was thinking of the Caribbean Sea, and when he was US Vice President. No one has ever found the evidence [...]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow The Russian government has forced the chief executive of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) to resign. Andrei Dyachkov, who was appointed to run the shipyard holding in June of last year, signed a letter of resignation on April 30, and then took sick leave. He is reportedly in hospital for [...]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow The Nigerian judge Okechukwu Okeke has retired from his Lagos court rather than appear for the trial, scheduled in Lagos on April 30, of the Russian crew of the security tender, Myre Seadiver. Sources in Lagos told Fairplay the trial has been postponed for a second time on account of the [...]

by John Helmer - Sunday, May 5th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow Nigerian judge, Okechukwu Okeke, failed to show up in his Lagos court yesterday for the scheduled trial on arms smuggling charges of the crew of the Myre Seadiver. There was no explanation for his non-appearance.

by John Helmer - Thursday, April 11th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow Sergei Kirienko has a reputation which survives no matter how selfish his aims, destructive his methods, ruinous his results. He was small enough to be looked down upon by President Boris Yeltsin; he hasn’t grown under President Vladimir Putin. As prime minister in 1998 – the smallest, shortest PM in Russian [...]

by John Helmer - Thursday, March 28th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow President Vladimir Putin will raise with African leaders this week the case of the Myre Seadiver and its 15-man Russian crew, who were arrested and imprisoned in Nigeria last October. The story so far. Putin will be in Durban, South Africa, on March 26 and 27. The Myre Seadiver crew have [...]

by John Helmer - Monday, March 25th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow The UK High Court and the Court of Appeal have now ruled three times to dismiss almost eight years of legal claims by state shipping company Sovcomflot, adding up (with interest and costs) to about one billion dollars. On top, Sovcomflot’s chief executive Sergei Frank (image left, left, tree) has been [...]

by John Helmer - Monday, March 11th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow The UK Court of Appeal yesterday cut short Russian tanker company Sovcomflot’s 7-year lawsuit, ruling that two earlier High Court judgements exonerating the conduct of former chief executive of Sovcomflot, Dmitry Skarga, must stand. The dismissal by the High Court of most of Sovcomflot’s claims against former chartering partner, Yury Nikitin, [...]

by John Helmer - Thursday, March 7th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow New records of the Myre Seadiver’s ill-fated stay at Lagos, Nigeria, have been made available, showing the Lagos port authorities and the Nigerian Navy gave permission for the Russian security vessel to enter the port with a stock of small arms, and that these remained on board at an anchorage in [...]

by John Helmer - Thursday, February 28th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow Russian government relations with Nigeria have collapsed after negotiations have failed to free from five months of detention the Russian fleet tender vessel, Myre Seadiver, and its 15-man Russian crew. They have been charged with arms smuggling. The case is now viewed in Moscow as a repeat of the African Pride [...]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
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