Are there at least two dead?

Cracking dry cargo in the Kerch Strait: What is known

On Wednesday night, April 19, 27 kilometers from the coast of Crimea, the Arsenal Heroes transported, transporting grain from Azov Region to Turkey. There were 12 people on board: 9 citizens of Ukraine, 2 Russians, 1 citizen of Georgia. The SOS signal entered the remote control of the republican Ministry of Emergencies at 03:54 Moscow time. At 04:00, the dry cargo ship disappeared from the radar.

By the time of the crash, the ship was on a raid in the Kerch Strait area, where on the evening of April 18, a storm warning was announced: the wind speed reached 25 m/s.

“Units of the southern regional search and rescue detachment consisting of 13 people were sent to the place, of which 6 divers, 2 units. Techniques, the Falcon underwater apparatus, the press service of the Ministry of Emergencies said. Also in search of people, employees of the Novorossiysk and Temryuk Fire and Rescue Garrison advanced. The total number of rescuers was 139 people and 17 units of equipment.

At 05:34 a.m., the first rescued was raised on board the Armada Navigator vessel-35-year-old citizen of Ukraine K. Chernenko, who worked on a motorist carrier. Later, the media reported about four more saved crew members, but this information was refuted to the Ministry of Emergencies. According to the rescuers, they really found four more people in rescue vests, but a strong storm prevents them from getting to them: gusts of wind are now up to 20 m/s. At the same time, people are in cold water - its temperature in the Kerch Strait is now 8 ° C.

As the interlocutor at the Naval Directorate, which carries a ferry in the Kerch Strait, told Novaya Gazeta, the storm may continue for two days.

Meanwhile, the Southern Investigation Department of Transport of the IC of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Violation of the rules of traffic safety and the operation of sea transport, which entailed by negligence the death of two or more persons."

The New Gazeta contacted the press secretary of the investigative department Oksana Kovryzhny. She refused to confirm or refute the death of the sailors.

- If the Investigative Committee qualifies the case in this way, then there is reason. But I note that at the moment, rescue operations at the site of the cohesion of the dry cargo are ongoing, the data may be adjusted.

At the disposal of Novaya Gazeta there was also a list of members of the crew of the vessel: among them 10 men and one woman who worked on the Cock ship. Citizens of Ukraine I. Glazko, A. Mesnyankin, D. Sinyuk, A. Pantyukhov, N. Ganchevsky, A. Bitsur, K. Chernenko (managed to save), A. Goncharenko, M. Svechkar - Kok, Georgian citizen L. Kajay, as well as Russians A. Vedernikov and D. Pateev worked.

According to our interlocutors working on marine merchant ships, the reason for the crash of the ship could be a combination of several circumstances at once.

“First of all, it is worth paying attention to the cargo that the ship was transporting,” Dmitry Dmitry, captain of the containers with 15 years of experience, told Novaya Gazeta. - Grain is a very dangerous cargo, it is sprinkled from board aboard, creating an unbalanced, which can lead to a fault and flooding of the ship. There are special instructions for loading grain, much depends on the professionalism of the crew: whether it can competently distribute the load along the ship. Of course, the storm wind, coupled with the respectable age of the vessel, was an important factor, it is 37 years old. On the other hand, Soviet -made marine transport is quite reliable: age could become a decisive factor only if the dry load was not monitored.

According to Dmitry, the tragedy could also lead to depressurization of the underwater part of the vessel.

Officially, the reasons for the crash are currently not named.

The owner of the Arsenal Heroes of Arsenal is the Turkish company Gunes Shipping & Trading, its representatives have already stated that they intend to understand the causes of what happened.

Rescue operation and investigative actions continue.