Emerging Incident: Sinking of the fishing trawler "Dalniy Vostok" in Russia (1 April 2015)

A large Russian fish factory, the "Dalniy Vostok", sank off the remote east coast of Russia on Wednesday 1 April 2015, resulting in a very high number of casualties.

Vessel: Fishing Trawler "Dalniy Vostok" / "Dal'nij Vostok" (IMO No. 5085653)

P & I Club: Unconfirmed (but thought to be Ingosstrakh)

GT: 23,102

Build: 1963 (52 years old)

Flag: Russia

Operator: Magellan LLC

Numbers Onboard: 132 crew of Russian, Burmese, Ukranian, Lithuanian and Vanuatuan nationality.

Voyage: Working off the Kamchatka peninsula.

Incident: The vessel appears to have been trawling a very heavy (and possibly overweight) dragnet, when she may have struck ice or some mother object, resulting in the vessel being pulled quickly beneath the surface.

The Risks of Trading in the Ukraine

Many shipowners are asking at present - what are the risks of trading in the Ukraine in the current circumstances?

Well apart from the dangerous security situation in the eastern and southern provinces, the principal risk is that of breaching the US and western sanctions. The full sanctions of the US are available here but in short, in response to events in the region in 2014 there were three rounds of international sanctions, both from the US and the EU and other western nations (Australia, Switzerland, Japan etc.). Most of these actions were restrictions on Russian individuals, companies and banks from trading, travelling etc. but some of the sanctions are so far reaching that, in order to ensure no breaches occur, a party trading with or in Ukraine must essentially choose to either trade with Crimea (now under Russian control) or with the remainder of Ukraine (Odessa or Kiev for instance).

If you move between a contested region and government controlled Ukraine, especially if you transport cargo between the two, you will be at risk of sanctions related penalties, vessel seizures and potentially confiscations. The risk is especially strong trading from Crimea to Odessa and there are reports of an increase in vessel arrests in the region generally. Shipowners beware.

2014 EASING OF IRAN SANCTIONS

For years ship owners worldwide have had one principal country they are sure they need to avoid dealings with to remain on the right side of the law and their insurers, Iran. This country also happens to have a wealth of potential imports / exports and a huge oil industry, so there was always plenty of work available for ships in the region, had they only been able to take it up. The time has now come for the demand tap to be gradually turned back on.

The US,  five other major powers (UK, France, Germany, Russian and China) and the EU have now announced (20 January 2014) that they will begin easing sanctions against Iran and even providing relief to the country. This is in response to actions by Iran to wind down its ability to enrich uranium (and potentially develop nuclear weapons - the source of the sanctions to begin with).

Some sanctions are being suspended for 6 months, with the promise of them and others being lifted permanently if a final agreement can be reached between Iran and the countries on its cessation of uranium enrichment.

The sanctions which are now suspended are significant and include temporary lifting of financial sanctions, and restrictions on the buying and selling and associated services related to Iran's 'petrochemical products' (products derived from petroleum or oil, i.e. processed products). However, it must be noted that some of the highest-level sanctions remain in place in the meantime as normal, such as the block on buying Iranian crude oil and the freezing of the bank accounts of companies associated with the Iranian oil industry.

The full detail and guidance documents on the latest agreement is available here.

ARTICLE: The Sinking of the "Bulgaria" (2011)

 

Vessel: Passenger Ship "Bulgaria"

Year: 2011 (July)

Place: Tatarstan, Volga River, Russian Federation.

Incident: Sinking.

Casualties: 77 Adult fatalities, 11 children. 

Cause: Age & Maintenance of Vessel / Overcrowding / Heavy Weather. 

On 11 July the vessel "Bulgaria" was sailing, heavily overcrowded, when it rolled, allowing water to rush into the internal spaces, causing the vessel to sink. It took just three minutes to sink leaving almost 200 people overboard and trapped inside, two miles from land.

One of the most tragic reports from the incident was that two nearby vessels sailed past and refused to offer assistance to the survivors. It noew appears that legal proceedings will be issued against those two ships by the Russian government.

The ship was 55 years old and its construction meant that any water ingress to internal areas was fatal (there were no seperation comprtments in the hull). The extrememe overcrowding would not allow it to stay upright in the weather it experienced. Investigations into this tragic accident are ongoing.