BUENOS AIRES, March 21. /TASS/. The trimaran a Russian team on a circumnavigation of the world had used sank in the Pacific Ocean during their evacuation last week, the head of the expedition, Yevgeny Kovalevsky, said on Monday.

Previous reports said the trimaran had been towed off by a bulk carrier that rescued the Russian travelers.

"In a heavy storm, the captain of the vessel Sounion managed to locate the drifting trimaran and pulled the crew on board, warning that they would have to abandon the inflatable boat. Nevertheless, an attempt was made to rescue the boat, as it was towed with a tow rope. As the rescue operation was conducted late at night, the trimaran was torn off from the bulk carrier amid a strong wind and huge waves," the expedition said in a statement seen by TASS.

Kovalevsky and his crewmate Stanislav Berezkin requested help on March 16 due to a steering failure when they were crossing from mainland Chile to Easter Island. With the assistance of the South American republic’s Navy, the Russian travelers were evacuated by a vessel that was heading for the mainland.

The travelers lost all their equipment and belongings with the trimaran. However, they are planning to continue their circumnavigation in April on board a sailing inflatable catamaran they will borrow from another Russian traveler, Dmitry Trubitsyn.

Berezkin and Kovalevsky set sail from St.Petersburg on July 1, 2021. Their expedition under the aegis of the Russian Geographical Society follows the routes once taken by famous Russian explorers Adam Krusenstern, Fyodor Litke and Fabian von Bellingshausen. The total length of the route is some 35,000 nautical miles.

In early November, the travelers left Buenos Aires for Cape Horn. They have been crossing the Pacific Ocean since February 28.