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Dry cargo ship sinking in Kamchatka, no people aboard

Due to a dispute between business entities, the Tikhon Semushkin has been anchored in Avacha for the past three years

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, April 11 (Itar-Tass) —— The Tikhon Semushkin dry cargo ship is sinking in the Avacha harborage in a suburb of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There are no crewmembers aboard, but there is a threat of a fuel spill, the Kamchatka territorial government told Itar-Tass.

“Due to a dispute between business entities, the Tikhon Semushkin has been anchored in Avacha for the past three years. Vandals stole copper valve from the main engine’s cooling system yesterday and water started coming inside the engine room. The ship may tilt and the fuel will spill,” regional special programs and Cossack affairs minister Sergei Khabarov said.

In his words, such ships may carry over 90 tonnes of fuel oil. The precise amount of fuel aboard is unknown. A rescue ship has arrived and water is being pumped out from the engine room. The ship will be towed to shallow water.

“The ship has been looted. Kamchatka lost a practically new dry cargo ship with the displacement of over 8,000 tonnes, which could have supply cargo to the peninsula,” the minister said.