YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, September 26. /TASS/. Rescuers and the crew’s repair team have extinguished an open fire onboard the Pyotr Zhitnikov depot ship in distress in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday afternoon, the press service of the Emergencies Ministry’s Main Directorate for the Sakhalin Region told journalists.
"There is no open fire on the vessel; there is smoke," the report says.
Earlier in the day the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk maritime rescue coordination center told TASS that the fire-fighting efforts on the depot ship continue: rescuers used foam on the board, but they failed to put out the blaze. The center specified that no open fire could be seen, but it was unknown at the moment whether it had been put out completely.
The rescuers and the crew’s repair team are now cooling the topside. A representative for the ship’s owner Dalmoreprodukt told TASS that the rescuers barred oxygen to smoldering areas. The team did not enter the canning department where the fire had sparked. Now the rescue vessel Predanny, the rescue tugboat Atlas, a coast defense ship and the Chempion vessel are staying near the depot ship.
The Yuzhno-Kurilsk district administration reported that charter flights to Vladivostok for the second and third groups of crew members evacuated to the Kuril Islands will depart with a delay. The flights were scheduled for 16:00 (8:00 Moscow time) and 20:00 (12:00 Moscow time). The departure time was changed to 17:00 (9:00 Moscow time) and 20:30 (12:30 Moscow time).
The fire on the depot ship
The fire on the depot ship sparked on September 23. There were 420 people onboard; 361 of them were evacuated by fishing vessels to Shikotan, and 59 people remained on board to continue to combat the fire as an emergency service team. On Wednesday, the team was increased to 65 people. It was initially suggested transporting the crew to Vladivostok (the vessel’s port of registration) at the vessel owner’s expense onboard ferries, but then it was decided to use airline service with Kunashir.
The first two charter flights departed from Yuzhno-Kurilsk (Kunashir) to Vladivostok on Wednesday evening. One hundred and thirty-five people were taken to the destination point. The Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport said that the vessel owner freighted five planes of the Aurora airline company.
The rescue vessels Predanny and Atlas have reached the site. A third rescue ship, the Sibirsky, will be dispatched to the area soon.
The Pyotr Zhitnikov depot ship was built in 1989 and is operated by Dalmoreprodukt. It is one of the largest depot ships; the second depot ship of the same Sodruzhestvo class belongs to Dobroflot. It is designed for receiving crabs and raw fish from catching vessels; their processing as cans, preserves, frozen products, fish flour, crab meal and oil; and for supplying and servicing catching vessels. The Russian-flagged vessel has gross registered tonnage of 32,096 tonnes and deadweight of 10,070 tonnes. It is 1,719.03 meters long and 28 meters wide.