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Ekarma Trawler towed to Kamchatka shore
02/02/2009 Source:Translation: RusNavy.com
The Ekarma-7, the Russian fishing trawler that caught fire on January 20 in the Sea of Okhotsk, has been towed to the Kamchatka shore, and rescuers are preparing to inspect the boat, a duty officer of the Sakhalin Navigation Service told Ria Novosti.
The boat, which is the property of the Ekarma-Sakhalin fishing company, caught fire last Thursday at approximately 1:00 p.m. Sakhalin time (18:00 Moscow time). The fire reportedly resulted from the incineration of packaging material while the boat was fishing 170 kilometers west of Cape Lopatka near Sakhalin.
The rescue boat Spravedlivy reached the trawler in distress on Friday. Rescuers planned to tow the boat to shore for an inspection on the same day, but during towing a fire once again broke out in the hold of the boat. The fire was contained only by the end of the day.
Foreigners working aboard the trawler were evacuated on Friday, while the remaining crew was evacuated on Saturday. The trawler had 95 people aboard, among them 43 Russian citizens. No-one was reported injured.
“The rough weather along the coast of Kamchatka has not allowed an inspection of the boat to proceed. A powerful cyclone is making its way toward the coast. The storm wind reaches 30 kilometers per hour. The open sea is rough, but in closed bays the waters are calm,” the officer told the news agency.
He added that he did not know whether a fire was still active aboard the boat. He also noted that the area of the boat used to process fish had burned completely. The motor room, where the fire started, has been tightly sealed.