Translated material
"007" and "Squirrel"
In Primorye, the "governor's" yacht sank a boat and people
The tragedy that occurred in the waters of Vladivostok late in the evening on September 14 claimed the lives of at least several people. In the area of Tokarevskaya cat (the end of the Egersheld peninsula), a pleasure yacht with a characteristic name collided ...
The tragedy that occurred in the waters of Vladivostok late in the evening on September 14 claimed the lives of at least several people.
In the area of Tokarevskaya cat (the end of the Egersheld peninsula), a pleasure yacht with the characteristic name "007" and a small boat of the Bay Liner type with the no less characteristic name "Squirrel" collided.
The yacht at high speed crashed into the hull of the boat, turning it, in fact, into a pile of debris. There were 6 people on the boat - four men and two women. According to one version, they went to night squid fishing; on the other hand, they just wanted to ride. Two men from the boat - the captain and his friend - died immediately, one man and one woman managed to be lifted out of the water alive, while the woman with multiple injuries was immediately sent to the hospital and placed in the intensive care unit. Two more people - a man and a woman - are missing. The chances of finding them alive are practically zero.
Vladivostok has been discussing for days now: is the governor of Primorsky Krai Sergei Darkin connected with the incident? It is known that the luxury yacht "007" (we emphasize again - this is the name, not the side number) belongs to the fishing company BAMR ("Active Sea Fishing Base") from Nakhodka. BAMR is closely connected with the business that Sergei Mikhailovich was engaged in before entering politics. It is known that, despite the port of registry Nakhodka marked on the stern, the yacht is located in Vladivostok almost all year round. In the elite parking lot where she is based, she is called "governor's". It is known that this yacht is regularly used by the top officials of the regional administration for "walking" VIP guests in the water area adjacent to Vladivostok.
The first rumor - Darkin was on the yacht - was not confirmed.
The second rumor, even more exotic: Darkin and Stepashin were on the yacht (the latter was inspecting the construction sites of the APEC-2012 summit in Russian just these days) - also did not find confirmation; well-informed people say that just at that time Darkin was seeing Stepashin off at the airport.
The third rumor (on the yacht (with permission from above) the golden youth “came off”) is covered with thick fog. Just these days in Vladivostok, again under the patronage of the governor, the traditional film festival "Pacific Meridian" is being held, in the tradition of which to arrange boat trips for guests.
The fourth rumor, or rather, the official version: there was not a single extraneous soul on the yacht, except for the captain and sailor. Apparently, the two of them decided to ride an expensive toy.
Competent structures comment on what happened with extreme restraint. From which many conclude that they intend to blame the deceased captain of the Squirrel and his accomplices for everything. However, it is worth recognizing that the fundamental factor that ultimately led to the tragedy was the speeding of both ships.
There is a strict order from the captain of the port of Vladivostok, which prohibits speeds in the water area above 9 knots (about 17 km/h). However, as the correspondents of Novaya Gazeta managed to find out, the captains of both boats grossly violated the speed limit: as the impassive devices of the services for tracking the movement of ships in the water area recorded, the Belochka flew at a speed of 25 knots: the yacht, which was heading on a collision course, was not much behind, moving on 15 knots.
This is perhaps the key question. Is it only the captain of the "Squirrel" who is to blame for what happened, or can VIP yachts, on which, unlike the "memberships", not yet put on flashing lights, can also be the cause of disasters?
Judging by the first official releases from the prosecutor's office and other bodies, they cannot.