by Andreína Trujillo; The owner of vessel RV Teknik Perdana, which was detained by the Venezuelan Navy last week while conducting oil prospecting operations in the waters of the Venezuelan Atlantic Front under Guyana's directions, announced on Tuesday that the ship and its 36 crew members have been released. In a statement, Malaysian oil company Sapurakencara Petroleum thanked the Venezuelan government for ensuring the security of the crew during the time they stayed in Margarita Island, northern Venezuela, and for releasing the vessel, AFP reported. The RV Teknik Perdana "was carrying out prospecting operations for Anadarko Petroleum USA," as requested by Guyana's government, when the Venezuelan Navy stopped it and took it to Margarita Island, the statement issued by Sapurakencara explained. Guyana denounced on October 11 that the Venezuelan Navy had chased and detained the Teknik Perdana, which was prospecting for oil under an "offshore" concession granted by Guyana to oil company Anadarko, based in the United States. Caracas demanded an explanation from Guyana regarding this incident, while Georgetown argues that the vessel was in Guyanese waters all the time, at the Roraima bloc. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elías Jaua and his Guyanese counterpart Carolyn Rodrigues will discuss this incident in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday, the Venezuelan Foreign Office has announced.