Helicopter reconnaissance of the South Korean trawler Oriental Angel, which ran aground off Chukotka coasts detected no fuel leakage from the ship’s tunks, the local administration said.
According to the Administration of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug the ship was spotted on the southern coast of Anadyr in Chukotka region. The stranded vessel has reportedly in her tanks about 1,100 tons of fuel.
"To pump out fuel from Oriental Angel we plan to dispatch from Sakhalin the Rubin, a salvage ship, which has all the necessary equipment. The Rubin travel time to the site is roughly about 8 days," the Chukotka Deputy Governor Andrei Yeskin said.
An earlier report said the trawler’s cargo holds laden with fish meal took fire on Nov. 17 when the ship was in the Bering Sea. While the Oriental Angel was heading for the Beringovsky settlement of Anadyr district, the crew members were trying unsuccessfully to put out the fire. As a result, 89 sailors were forced to board liferafts and leave the burning ship. Later the people were picked up by vessels, which happened to be in the area. The abandoned ship hove to and at 11:00 am, Nov. 20 ran around near the Cape of Voyenny Topography.
The South Korean vessel’s owner Keuk Dong Fisheries Co., Ltd has applied to the Chukotka government for assistance in salvage of the stricken ship.