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Uncontrolled ship being towed from Sea of Okhotsk to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

There are 67 people, 32 crewmembers and 35 passengers, aboard the Korsakov
Screenshot  Russia-24
Screenshot Russia-24

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, December 30 (Itar-Tass) —— The freezer trawler Ostrov Sakhalin has started an operation to tow the transport refrigerator Korsakov, which went out of control in the Sea of Okhotsk near Kamchatka's western coast on December 28, to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for repair, a spokesman for the Kamchatka sea rescue centre told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

The Korsakov will be hauled from the Second Kuril Strait near Onekotan Island. The distance to the port is 360 km. The ships are expected to arrive in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on December 31.

The Korsakov is registered in the port of Nevelsk and belongs to the Sakhalin-based company Gidrostroi. The ship went out of control some 27 kilometers off the port of Ozernoi on Kamchatka’s southwestern coast on December 28. The wheel of the vessel stuck.

Initially, it was planned to make repairs in a safe zone near the Kuril Island. The rescue vessel Predanny with divers aboard came to the site on Saturday. But because of strong currents in the area, specialists decided not to conduct underwater work and to tow the ship to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

There are 67 people, 32 crewmembers and 35 passengers, aboard the Korsakov. The refrigerator also has about 400 tons of diesel fuel. There is no threat to the people, and no probability of fuel leakage, the spokesman said.