A group of Russian sailors stranded on a ship in Avonmouth are set to go home next week.

The 12 crew of the OMG Kolpino will receive around £80,000 – half the wages owed to them – next week after their vessel was impounded by authorities over unpaid debts by owners the Oslo Marine Group.

The ship – which was carrying a cargo of fertiliser from Egypt – arrived in Bristol on March 17 and was seized under the powers of the Admiralty Marshal, a court official in charge of legal actions related to shipping.

It was impounded under the jurisdiction of the court service and is being held until the finances of the St Petersburg-based firm Oslo Marine Group, which owns it, are sorted out and creditors paid off.

The crew, who have not been paid since December, have had no money to return home.

But Admiralty Marshal Keith Houghton has said the crew could return home by Friday, May 29.

He said: "I have been ordered by the High Court to sell the OMG Kolpino to repay debts owed by its owners to the Bank of St Petersburg.

"The crew of 12 have made a claim for around £160,000 between them for wages unpaid since December.

"The bank has decided to pay the sailors around £80,000 – half of the wages owed, which will enable them to fly home – I will ensure they have cash by next week to do this.

"The crew has instructed a solicitor who will then pursue the claim for their remaining wages, which will be paid to them when the ship is sold.

"The ship will be sold through a sealed bid system for the highest price possible."

Although stranded at Avonmouth, the Kolpino's crew has been free to come and go and has been given food and water by the Admiralty Marshal. The ship's captain, Andrey Semenov, 51, said: "We hear there could be some good news this week but we have heard nothing official. We are expecting a visit from the Russian Embassy to tell us what is happening."

The Oslo Marine Group first hit problems last year when banks in Russia started to grow concerned about expansion plans.

It started life as an insurance company in the 1990s but went into shipping last year.

As well as operating three cargo ships the firm also owns ports in Vyborg and St Petersburg and had extensive interests in Scandinavia in the timber trade.

A second vessel, the cargo ship OMG Gatchina, is being held at La Pallice in France.

According to OMG, the firm had been hit by falling freight rates and reduced cargoes as a result of the global recession.