Another fishing trawler is in distress in the Sea of Okhotsk, Itar-Tass reports. On Monday, the Ostrov Simushir trawler based in Sakhalin got caught in its own fishing net that stuck on the ship’s propeller and paralysed the ship. A 29-strong crew cannot get out of trouble and disentangle the net without help.
The Spravedlivy rescue ship has been sent to rescue the stranded trawler. There is a group of divers on board the rescue ship instructed to take the ship out of a strong kapron net trap, the Sakhalin Service for monitoring the fishermen’s fleet reported. For the time being, other ships that are in the emergency area are drifting nearby ready to come to rescue if necessary.
Earlier, two self propelled barges and two small ships, including the Lima fishing ship and the BKK –2030 research ship, had been forced to remain adrift in an ice trap the Sea of Okhotsk. On Sunday, a helicopter picked up nine sailors from both ships. Only five crewmen remained on board the two ships altogether as their captains ordered. They will stay in the Sea of Okhotsk for the winter and wait until the ice begins to move to enable them to break through into the open sea.