22.01.2010
Refrigerator ship Smolninsky with 30 Russians on board iced up while fishing off Sakhalin Island and may sink, informs RIA Novosti citing representative of Russian EMERCOM, Sakhalin Branch.
According to the interviewee, the information of incident was received at 07.40 am Moscow time (02.40 pm local time). Exact number of the vessel's complement is unspecified, added the source. There is no communication with the ship.
The nearest vessels – tanker
Degtyarsk and ships of
Sakhalin Energy company operating oil platform
Molipack – need about 10 hours to approach
Smolninsky. All rescue vessels are 2-3 sailing days away from the accident site. Use of rescue aviation is impossible due to bad weather conditions. Windspeed at the distress area is 20-25 mps; wave height is up to 6 meters, reported duty officer of
Yuzhno Sakhalinsk maritime rescue center.
Refrigerator ship
Smolninsky is registered at the port of Nakhodka, Primorsky Krai.
Source: RusNavy.com, photo: Sakhalin Island (desertsun.co.uk)
