News

The investigating bodies of the Far Eastern Transportation Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have opened an investigation in a crime under part 3 of article 263 of the RF Penal Code (violation of safety standards for traffic and operation of water transport entailing death of two or more people by negligence) after the Dalny Vostok trawler sank in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Investigators have revealed that on 2 April, about 4:12 AM (Sakhalin time) the Dalny Vostok freezer trawler (ship owner OOO Magellan, home port Nevelsk, the trawler was built in 1989) sank within 15 minutes in the Sea of Okhotsk in coordinates 56.49 NL and 150.41 EL.

The trawler was on a fishing mission. Presumably, it had 132 people aboard. Of those 56 were passengers and 76 crew. Among those aboard 78 were from Russia, 42 from Myanmar, 5 from Vanuatu, 3 from Latvia and 4 from Ukraine.

According to the latest information provided by the Far Eastern Regional Center 63 people were rescued and 54 were confirmed to be dead. The searches for 15 people are ongoing. 26 fishing vessels are searching for the missing ones. The Novouralsk, Granit, Ivan Kalinin fishing ships are involved to ensure safe evacuation of the survivors and the bodies.

An investigating team of investigators and criminalists of the Far Eastern Transportation Investigations Directorate is working at the scene. They are confiscating documents from the ship owning company in the home port of Nevelsk and in the sea port of the city of Vladivostok as according to investigators that was the port from which the trawler sailed out on 3 January 2015. Within next few days the investigators are planning to question the crew and senior officials of the ship owner to find out circumstances and causes of the wreck. The investigators are considering all possible theories, but it is likely that the trawler hit an object floating in the sea which may have damaged the body of the ship somewhere near the engine room.

The senior officials of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have assumed control of the investigation.

Head of Media Relations                                                                                                                                 V.I. Markin