The merchant ships send by shipowners to the Azov Sea are not entirely prepared for navigation in harsh winter conditions because of high charter rates on ice-class vessels, a Rosmorport official told reporters at a briefing today.
As Alexander Davydenko, head of Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot) said the main task now is to assist the ships stuck in the waters of the Sea of Azov and after that to decide over liability of shipowners.
Overall, there are currently 35 merchant ships waiting for icebreaking assistance in the Sea of Azov, 31 of them – inbound, 4 – outbound. There are also 65 vessels in the Russian ports of the Azov Sea that are ready to depart, only 19 of them comply with the ice-class requirements. From the Black Sea 68 vessels are waiting to pass the Kerch Strait in the Sea of Azov, 29 of them have ice-class.