TOKYO, May 26. /TASS/. The authorities of Japan are looking into circumstances of Wedenesday’s collision of Japanese and Russian fishing vessels in the Sea of Okhotsk, the country’s maritime safety department told TASS.
The two ships collided in the Sea of Okhotsk, 23 km off the coast of Japan’s Hokkaido Island. Three Japanese fishermen were killed and two injured as a result.
"We are examining circumstances of the incident, our patrol ships have been sent to the area," the department said. According to its information, "survivors, who were on board the Japanese vessel at the moment of the collision, have been taken to the shore, and their lives are out of danger."
Meanwhile, the Kyodo news agency quoted one of the Japanese ship’s crew members as saying that it was the Russian vessel that ran into the Japanese one.
"At the moment of the collision [the Japanese] vessel was in the process of work <…> and was unable to move. It was the Russian ship that crashed into us," the fisherman was quoted as saying.
The Russian fishing vessel, the Amur, is owned by the Amurskoye fishing company, registered in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
"It is too early for us to make any assessment of damage, or provide any other information. We are now working with inspectors. The accident occurred in Japan’s zone, so it is too early to say anything now. The vessel’s future is also not clear at the moment," a company official told TASS, adding that all of the Russian ship’s crew members "appear to be fine."
According to the Kyodo news agency, a Japanese patrol ship escorted the Russian vessel to the port of Mombetsu in the north of the country.
The Russian embassy in Japan confirmed this information, saying that "the embassy and the Russian Consulate General in Sapporo will render all necessary assistance to Russians on board the Amur vessel.".