BODIES FOUND IN SEA OF AZOV CREWMEMBERS FROM NAKHICHEVAN SHIP
Itar-Tass
12.11.2007, 20.04
ROSTOV ON DON, November 12 (Itar-Tass) — The bodies of three sailors
found on the Tuzla Spit in the Sea of Azov on Monday morning are from
the dry cargo ship Nakhichevan that sank during Sunday’s storm in the
Sea of Azov, the Federal Regional Centre of the Emergencies Ministry
told Itar-Tass.
The bodies have not been identified yet. "The inscriptions on the
life vests indicate that they are from the crew of the sunken dry
cargo ship," the centre official said.
Meanwhile the weather in the area has deteriorated, upsetting the
cleanup operation to remove the oil spill in the Kerch Strait, chief
spokesman for the Southern Regional Centre of the Emergencies Ministry
Oleg Grekov told Itar-Tass.
"A force 4 storm continues in the area, and the temperature of the
air is falling, causing the fuel oil to sink to the bottom. And the
oil spill area may increase because of the gusts of wind of up to 10
meters per second," he said.
He said, however, that there are no signs of other oil leaks from
the grounded ships.
On Sunday, the gale wind raging in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov
at a speed of up to 32 meters per second scattered dozens of vessels
in the Kerch Strait. The Volgoneft-139 anchored tanker, carrying
4,077,000 tonnes of fuel oil broke into two in the Temryuk district
near the Zhyolty Rog Horn on the Taman Peninsula, leaking about 1,200
tonnes of fuel oil into the sea.
Three dry cargo ships, the Volnogorsk-Balker, the Nakhichevan, and
the Koval, loaded with sulphur sank.
Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said several
teams are collecting the spilt oil on the coast in the Kerch Strait
and the Temryuk district of the Krasnodar Territory.
Rescuers are monitoring the spills from helicopters to keep track of
their drift and predict environmental consequences of the spill in
the area.
Rescuers are also pumping fuel oil from the ships affected the
storm and plan to start transferring oil from the Volgoneft-139
and Volgoneft-123 tankers. The latter, although afloat, has been
seriously damaged.
The search for five missing crewmen from the Nakhichevan is underway.
Thirty-seven people were saved during the rescue operation that
began on Sunday after several vessels had got in distress in the
Kerch Strait and the Novorossiisk port.
"Three emergency helicopters and 11 rescue vessels are involved in the
search operation," Beltsov said earlier. The bodies of three seamen,
reportedly Nakhichevan crewmembers, have been found.
Despite the storm, Russian and Ukrainian specialists continue the
search-and-rescue operation in the strait. They are trying to find
five seamen from the Nakhichevan. The crew consisted of eight people,
and earlier the bodies of three seamen in life vests were found on
the Tuzla Spit. They are believed to be from the Nakhichevan. "The
Russian side has indicated the area of the search, where the people
can be found," a representative of the Russian crisis management
commission said.
The Russian crisis management commission (headquartered at the Kavkaz
port), led by Deputy Transport Minister Boris Korol, is working in
cooperation with the Ukrainian counterpart in Kerch, led by Deputy
Minister for Transport and Communications Valentin Kasapchyuk.
Meanwhile, the Russian Transport Ministry is working out a plan for
recovering the ships that sank in the Kerch Strait on Sunday. However,
the work will begin only after weather conditions improve in the area,
the head of the Federal Agency of Sea and Inland Water Transport,
Alexander Davydenko, told Itar-Tass.
"Workforce and means necessary to begin the operation have already
been sent to the region. Three helicopters and special tugboats will
be working in the strait," Davydenko said. "Ship owners also intend
to participate in the operation," he added.
The ships will be raised with the help of pontoons. "They will
be submerged and divers will fix them to the ships lying on the
seabed. Then, water will be pumped out of the pontoons, and air will
be pumped in, after which ships will get afloat together with them,"
he explained.
According to Davydenko, the ships will be then examined and depending
on their condition and weather conditions, they will be either
transported to the port or the water will be pumped out at the site.
According to the latest reports, the nose part of the Volgoneft-139
is at the place where the ship was anchored, while the aft is four
kilometres west of Tuzla lying aground. A crew of 13 has been taken
to the local hospital.
The Volgoneft -123 has a crack in the body and is moored at the 6th
pier at Kavkaz port, being prepared for the transfer of oil from
its holds.
The Dika barge is standing in shallow waters southwest of Tuzla.l
Its two-member crew has been picked up by a Ukrainian tugboat. The
Demetera barge is anchored 4.5 kilometres west of Cape Tuzla. The
two-member crew is aboard. There is no threat to their lives.
The dry cargo ship Volnogorsk sank with a cargo of granulated sulphur
west of Cape Tuzla. Its crew of eight has been taken to a hospital
in Taman.
The dry cargo ship Kovel is standing in shallow waters off the Crimea,
its nose part is slightly sunken. The 110member crew has been picked
up from the ship and taken to a hospital in Taman. The floating crane
Sevastopolets is in shallow waters off cape Zelezny Rog.
According to the Southern Regional Centre of the Emergencies Ministry,
320 Russian rescuers, 46 pieces of machinery, 13 ships, and four
helicopters are taking part in the search and rescue operation in
cooperation with the Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry.