MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Rescuers and the crew’s repair team have put out the fire which had been raging on the Pyotr Zhitnikov depot ship in the Sea of Okhotsk for almost a week, a representative for Dalmoreprodukt, the vessel’s owner, told TASS on Monday.
"The fire is considered to have been extinguished. The team entered the packaging room where it had sparked and poured all the contents. The command bridge was set up, the navigators were launched, and the engines were checked. There will be another check in the morning, and if everything is normal, the vessel will go to Nakhodka," the source said.
The company earlier said that the vessel will be overhauled in Nakhodka. The whole way from the site of the incident to the port may take about five days.
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.
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 179.03 meters long and 28 meters wide.