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Ukrainians thank Russian warship for rescuing crew

On Friday The Vice-Admiral Kulakov handed over the Ukrainian boat to rescue ships near the Greek island of Gavdos

KIEV, November 25. /TASS/. The Ukrainian side is grateful to the crew of the Russian anti-submarine ship The Vice-Admiral Kulakov for rescuing fishing boat 097 and its crew members, who had found themselves in distress in the Mediterranean earlier this week, a senior official of Ukraine’s Mariupol fishing port has told TASS.

"Naturally, we are grateful to Russians for rescuing our people," the port’s official said on the condition of anonymity. Fishing boat 097, registered at the Mariupol fishing port, is a small one - 32 meters long and 6.5 meters wide.

"I don’t know what problems they had. According to some reports, a cable went out of order. It is most important that the people are alive," he said.

In the meantime, the Russian Defense Ministry has published a video showing the Ukrainian boat’s captain saying that the boat had been adrift in the Mediterranean for two days due to a failed engine.

"During the storm some water got into the engine. Then it started emitting black smoke and we heard the valves clank. The boat stopped. We’ve been adrift here for two days," he told Russian officers who arrived on board by motor boat.

One of the crew members had apparently had a thumb inured.

"We do have enough water and food," the Ukrainian captain added. Also, he had a telephone conversation with the mainland from The Vice-Admiral Kulakov’s control room.

The Russian anti-submarine ship The Admiral Kulakov on Thursday morning picked a distress call from a Ukrainian fishing boat with a crew of seven on board. All were Ukrainian citizens. The engine went dead on November 21 and the boat stayed adrift in a busy shipping area for two days. The Russians ship was the first to hurry to the rescue.

On Friday, The Vice-Admiral Kulakov handed over the Ukrainian boat to rescue ships near the Greek island of Gavdos. Repairs on board are to begin soon. The Ukrainian sailors received all required assistance from the Russian ship’s crew.