A salvage team has pumped out 127 cbm of oil from the tanker Karakumneft, which ran aground on rocks off the Iceland of Iturup (Etorofu), Interfax reports citing an official of local rescue center.
"Rescuers have been extracting oil from the tanker’s board throughout the night. At the moment, we’ve pumped ashore 127 cubic meters of diesel fuel. The fuel is pumped into tank trucks to the shore, and then it is transported to the storage of petroleum products," said the captain-coordinator of Yuzhno-Sakhalin Marine Rescue Sub-Center. He added that the salvagers are not able to survey so far the ship’s starboard due to weather conditions.
This morning at 06:30 am (local time) the Atlas, a rescue ship of Sakhalin branch of the Baltic Basin Emergency Department (BASS) arrived at the site to join the salvage operation. The cargo tanks of the Karakumnefti still have about 800 tons of fuel.
Previously, the Karakumneft had reportedly sustained serious damages, at least six shell holes to its port side, when the 1200-laden tanker hit rocks while departing from the port Kitoviy based on the island of Iturup. The accident resulted in oil spill of 300 cbm. To prevent further leakage, on Feb. 18 the salvage team pumped nearly 90 cbm of diesel fuel from tanks # 1, # 4 (on the port and starboard side) into the central tanks (#1 and 2).