TALLINN, July 10 (RAPSI) – The Chennai court in India has dismissed the criminal case and the charges brought against the crew and guards of Seaman Guard Ohio, including the 14 Estonian citizens, the press service of Estonia’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet expressed contentment with the ruling. “We will know soon if the ruling will be appealed. The Foreign Ministry [of Estonia] is willing to provide all-round assistance toward returning Estonian citizens home,” the press service cited him as saying.

The Tamil Nadu police arrested 35 crew members and guards of the US anti-piracy ship MV Seaman Guard Ohio of maritime security provider AdvanFort on October 18. On December 30, the crew and the guards were charged with illegal refueling and illegal weapons possession and with illegally entering Indian territorial waters.

The crew and guards of Seaman Guard Ohio, which flew the flag of Sierra Leone, consisted of nationals of India, Estonia, the UK and Ukraine.

In March 2014, the arrested were released on bail paid by AdvanFort. They waited for the court ruling at a Chennai hotel located about a kilometer from the police stations, where they had to report twice a day.