Baku helps fire fighting on Russian tanker

The Russian tanker Palflot-2 is burning In the Caspian Sea in the territorial waters of Turkmenistan on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Currently the helicopters Mi-17-1B, KA-32, the Azerbaijani EMERCOM’s fireboat Whirl-5, as well as the ships Caspian Voyager, Caspian Protechtor, İslay and Jura owned by the Caspian Shipping Company are involved in the fire fighting.

‘’On April 23 at 09:35 the National Centre for Marine Administration of Azerbaijan received the SOS signal from the Russian tanker Palflot-2 located approximately 110 kilometers offshore in the Caspian Sea, on which the fire started,’’  the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan reported.

The EMERCOM forces and the Caspian Shipping Company are involved in the fire fighting on the scene. At the moment ten crew members have been evacuated, and the chief engineer Andrey Kramchuk is missing.

In turn, the Southern regional center of the Emergency Situations Ministry reported that the Russian tanker was in the territorial waters of Turkmenistan, 800 km from Astrakhan at the moment of ignition.

At the same time a source in the emergency services reported that one citizen of Russia died during a fire on the tanker. "According to the updated information,  only citizens of the Russian Federation were in the crew, a total of 11 people. The dead person was a  mechanic of the tanker,’’ RIA Novosti quotes the source as saying.

The shipowner sent  the ship ‘Valery Kolychev’ for  salvation of the crew of the tanker, which burns in the Caspian Sea, the head of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Astrakhan, Vladimir Zavyalov said, TASS reports.

"Saved crew will be delivered to Astrakhan on the ship Valery Kolychev. This ship belongs to the same company as the burning tanker. The ship is on the way. Saved people will arrive in Astrakhan not earlier than in two days,’’ Zavyalov said.

He also noted that the tanker’s Palflot-2 home port is Taganrog (the Rostovskiy region) and belongs to the company ‘Odyssey Shipping’, which is also located in Taganrog.

‘’We can not clarify anything else about the tanker,’’  Zavyalov said.

However, the Southern regional center of the Emergency Situations Ministry reported that the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry forces will not be involved in the fire fighting.

Kazakhstan also does not take part in the fire fighting  on the Russian tanker in the Caspian Sea, as there was no appeal received from Azerbaijan, the IA ‘News-Kazakhstan’ reported with a reference to the official representative of the Committee for Emergency Situations of the MIA, Ruslan Imankulov.

"In order the CSF of the ​​Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan means can participate in the fire fighting operation, it is necessary to receive a request from Azerbaijan. For this purpose there is a corresponding intergovernmental agreement and in case of receiving of a request under this agreement, of course, we will assist,’’ the CSF spokesman said.

 Imankulov did not confirmed the death of a citizen of Kazakhstan during the fire on the tanker.

‘’We are in constant communication with the services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan,’’ he concluded.

The investigators began pre-investigation checks on the fact of fire on the Russian tanker in the Caspian Sea, as a result of which one person was killed, the investigation department of the Russian IC reported.

"Astrakhan transport investigation department of the Southern Investigative Department of Transport of the Russian Federation Investigative Committee carried out the pre-investigation checks on the fact of the fire on board of the Palflot-2 navigating under the flag of the Russian Federation",  a statement reads.

Currently, the fire on the ship has not been extinguished. The forces of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations are involved in the fire fighting. A procedural decision will be made after a check.