Two high-ranking managers of ship-owner company charged in case of Kolskaya oil rig sinking in Sea of Okhotsk
Far Eastern Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has found all the circumstances under which Kolskaya oil drilling rig sank in the Sea of Okhotsk in December 2011 and has gathered enough evidence to bring charged against two top managers of OAO Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka (OJSC), which was the Kolskaya’s ship-owner, press center of RF Investigative Committee says.
According to investigators, the sinking of oil drilling rig and death of 53 people were caused by inaction and improper discharge of their official duties by acting chief engineer of Arkticmorneftegazrazvedka Leonid Bordzilovsky and acting deputy CEO Boris Likhvan. Today Bordzilovsky has been charged with a crime under part 3 of article 263 of the RF Criminal Code (violation of traffic and operation rules of sea transport entailing by negligence death of 2 or more people). Likhvan faced the same charge earlier.
According to investigators, there was a storm when the Kolskaya platform was being towed from western shelf of Kamchatka early in December 2011 and the person responsible for the towing operation ordered to make the speed 5 knots, which was higher than a maximum speed allowed in such weather. In addition, the waves beating in the bow damaged the plating and the water started going into ballast tanks causing a trim (list). Bordzilovksy and Likhvan ignored this alarming information conceitedly, did not take any organizational measures to set the critical situation right, did not timely prevent the violation of rules of towing and did not order to immediately lower the leg chords to make the rig more stable and to make it drift.
Inaction of the said officials, their disregard of their official duties led to a tragedy. The order which they finally gave to drop the leg chords was obviously dilated as due to water in tanks the mechanism had been out of order by the time. Up to 25 m/sec squalls of wind and 4-5m waves made the rig capsize and sink.
Bordzilovsky and Likhman realized that lives of 67 people aboard the sinking rig were in mortal danger. However, they did not take all possible measures to organize and conduct rescue efforts. Moreover, Bordzilovsky, knowing that the Kolskaya platform was submerging and the pumps could not pump out the water, forbade the crew to give SOS signal without his knowledge.
A helicopter flew to the site only after the oil drilling rig had sunk. However, it was not so short a period of time – about 5 hours – from the moment when Bordzilovsky and Likhvan learned about the critical situation at the rig to the moment, when it sank completely. I have no doubts that should the accused have been more responsible and taken more care about the people, this time would have been enough to save everyone aboard the Kolskaya rig.
Investigators also believe that it is through direct order from Bordzilovsky that there were too many people aboard. 28 people – shift workers, maintenance staff, whom Bordzilovksy simply did not let to go by other ships to save some money, did not take part in the towing operation itself, but still drowned with the rest of the crew.
During the rescue operation 14 out of 67 people on board the Kolskaya were saved. Bodies of 17 drowned were recovered. Court ruled to recognize another 36 people killed.
Investigators have done a large amount of work to find the cause-effect relation between the wrongdoings of the accused and the tragedy. During the investigation the rig was inspected by the deep-water apparatus Triton over a kilometer underwater. Investigators questioned about 200 witnesses, victims and officials of various state agencies, carried out searches and seizures and ran over 60 forensic expert examinations. They include complex integrated technical and operational expert examination, many forensic medical and situational expert examinations. The criminal case contains 25 volumes.
In the near future the victims, accused and their defendants will be announced about the end of criminal investigation. They will start reading the files.