Vessel in Kerch strait sends distress signal, Russian authorities say
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One crew member was killed on Dec 15, after Russia's ageing Volgoneft 212 tanker split in half, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MOSCOW - A vessel called Gam Express has sent a distress signal in the Kerch strait, Russia's Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office said on Dec 20.
"The Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office controls the safety of navigation in connection with the sending of a distress signal by the Gam Express vessel in the Kerch Strait," it said, in a statement posted on Telegram messaging app.
Interfax news agency said, citing a Russian sailors' union, that the ship sent the signal due to a delay in payment of salaries and a lack of food.
"The crew just haven't had their wages for three months, and there's no food. Food was last delivered to them on board on the 16th of November, it's all gone... That's why they're signalling," Interfax cited the Russian Seafarers' Trade Union as saying.
The Kerch strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and is a major shipping route.
On Dec 15, oil spilled into the Kerch Strait from two ageing tankers that were damaged during a heavy weekend storm, highlighting the environmental and insurance risks of Russia’s “shadow fleet”.
One crew member was killed after the Volgoneft 212 split in half, with 12 rescued, while authorities said all 14 crew aboard the Volgoneft 239, which ran aground 80m from the shore near the port of Taman, were also rescued.
The more than 50-year-old ships were carrying some 9,200 metric tonnes (62,000 barrels) of oil products in total, Russian news agency Tass said. REUTERS
