Posts Tagged ‘Sea of Okhotsk’
January 30, 2011
Ria Novosti today:
MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) 18:45 30/01/2011
The Russian icebreakers Krasin and Admiral Makarov have rescued the ice-trapped mother fishery ship Sodruzhestvo ending the month-long operation in the Sea of Okhotsk.
“The operation to rescue the Sodruzhestvo mother ship out of ice trap has been completed,” Russia’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Sunday.
The icebreakers resumed towing the vessel, stuck in the Sea of Okhotsk, toward clear waters on Wednesday. The rescue operation was earlier suspended due to poor weather conditions.
The Sodruzhestvo, Bereg Nadezhdy ship and the Professor Kizevetter research vessel, carrying altogether over 400 people, got stuck in two-meter-thick ice in the Sea of Okhotsk on December 31. Two other ships, the Mys Yelizavety and the Anton Gurin, became trapped a few days later.
The Admiral Makarov released the Professor Kizevetter and the Mys Yelizavety vessels from the ice trap, while the Anton Gurin managed to cope on its own. The Bereg Nadezhdy was successfully towed to clear water on January 24.
Tags:Icebreaker Admiral Makarov, Icebreaker Krasin, Russia, Sea of Okhotsk
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology, Weather | Comments Off on Okhotsk rescue over and icebreakers end operations
January 23, 2011
From Itar-Tass today:
from Itar-Tass
VLADIVOSTOK, January 23 (Itar-Tass) – An unusually strong ice nipping in the Sakhalin Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk impedes the efforts of the Admiral Makarov and the Krassin icebreakers to lead to clear waters The Bereg Nadezhdy transport refrigerator and the Sodruzhestvo floating factory.
The fishery ships got stuck in the ice December 31, 2010, and the caravan did not manage to move a single mile forwards since Saturday morning. It is still mired at a distance about 30 miles away from the areas of open floating ice, the Far-Eastern Shipping Line said.
The rescue operation is multi-stage and complicated, as the Admiral Makarov and the Krassin will first have to free the refrigerator from the ice trap, after which they will have to return for the floating factory, deadlocked in the ice together with the 348 crewmembers aboard.
Awaiting the caravan at the edge of the ice shield are the icebreaker Magadan and the tanker Viktoria. The latter will have to refuel the two icebreakers before they start the voyage back into the ice-packed spaces of the sea.
Tags:Icebreaker Admiral Makarov, icebreaker rescue, Krasin, Sea of Okhotsk
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology | Comments Off on Sea of Okhotsk: The saga continues…..
January 20, 2011
The Okhotsk saga continues: http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15874433&PageNum=0
MOSCOW, January 20 (Itar-Tass) – The operation to rescue the Shore of Hope refrigerator ship and the Sodruzhestvo mother ship, ice-nipped in the Sea of Okhotsk, has been suspended as weather conditions have deteriorated, sources from the press service of the Russian Transport Ministry report.
According to the source, the operation to get the ships out of a heavy ice zone by the Admiral Makarov and the Krasin icebreakers began at 21:30 Moscow time on Wednesday.
“However, the deterioration of weather conditions (a cyclone is hovering over Sakhalin, and there is no transport connection) has suspended the active phase of the operation to get the ships out of ice,” the source said, adding that an abnormally bad weather is characterized by zero visibility, the strengthening of winds and ice compression.
Now the ships are relatively safe, and nothing threatens the crews, the sources said. As soon as weather conditions improve, the active phase will be resumed.
Tags:icebreaker rescue, Krasin, Sakhalin, Sea of Okhotsk
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology | 2 Comments »
January 17, 2011
The Krasin: Image via Wikipedia
The rescue of the ships trapped by ice in the Sea of Okhotsk has been completed. A tour de force at temperatures as low as – 27°C by the three ice breakers, Magadan, Admiral Makarov and Krasin. The Krasin joined last and was the star of the show.
Richard North has been following and anticipating the story and a more complete description of this admirable rescue is available here.
This morning from Ria Novosti:
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110117/162171301.html
07:04 17/01/2011The Krasin and Admiral Makarov icebreakers have managed to take the Sodruzhestvo mother fishery ship and the Bereg Nadezhdy refrigerator vessel out of thick ice in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Far Eastern Shipping Company said Monday.
“The icebreakers first towed the mother ship to a safer area, and then returned for the Bereg Nadezdy, which they took to thinner ice,” company spokeswoman Tatyana Kulikova said.
The Bereg Nadezhdy ship, the Professor Kizevetter research vessel, and the Sodruzhestvo mother fishery ship, carrying altogether over 400 people, got stuck in two-meter-thick ice in the Sea of Okhotsk on December 31. Two other ships, the Mys Yelizavety and the Anton Gurin, became trapped a few days later.
The Admiral Makarov released the Professor Kizevetter and the Mys Yelizavety vessels from the ice trap, while the Anton Gurin managed to cope on its own.
Then the operation to rescue the Bereg Nadezhdy started, but the two icebreakers changed their plans, returning to the Sodruzhestvo vessel, which was the hardest to tow due to its wide body. Towing ropes snapped soon after the start of the operation, which resumed next day.
The rescue effort has been hampered by strong winds, low visibility and shifting ice floes in the area.
Tags:Admiral Makarov, ice rescue, icebreakers, Krasin, Magadan, Sea of Okhotsk
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology, Weather | 2 Comments »
January 15, 2011
Itar-Tass reports.
MOSCOW, January 14 (Itar-Tass) — The Admiral Makarov and Krasin icebreakers, which are leading the Sodruzhestvo mother ship out of an ice trap in the Sea of Okhotsk, have reached the drifting refrigerator ship Bereg Nadezhdy, a source at the Transport Ministry told Itar-Tass.
“The convoy of the Admiral Makarov, the Krasin and the Sodruzhestvo reached the drifting Bereg Nadezhdy at 10:30 a.m. Moscow time on Friday,” he said.
The Admiral Makarov cleared a two-mile strip in the afternoon and returned to the convoy. “The coordinating staff led by Deputy Transport Minister Viktor Olersky is analyzing weather and ice conditions for elaborating the tactics of the further operation,” the source said.
The ships need to cross the ice for meeting with the Magadan icebreaker and the Victoria tanker.
A number of ships trapped in the ice in the Sea of Okhotsk, among them the Sodruzhestvo, the Bereg Nadezhdy, the Professor Kizevetter research ship and the Mys Yelizavety trawler, asked for help on December 31, 2010. Two vessels were taken to a safe area.
It is yet unknown when the rescue of the Sodruzhestvo and the Bereg Nadezhdy may be over, as weathermen have a bad forecast for about one week.
Tags:Icebreaker Admiral Makarov, Krasin, Magadan, Sea of Okhotsk, Sodruzhestvo
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology, Weather | 1 Comment »
January 14, 2011
Depths in Sea of Okhotsk: Image via Wikipedia
The suspended rescue operation of the trapped ships in the Sea of Okhotsk has restarted and is progressing slowly in deteriorating weather and increasing ice.
From Ria Novosti:07:45 14/01/2011
Russia’s Krasin and Admiral Makarov icebreakers continue to lead the Sodruzhestvo mother fishery ship through thick ice floe to clear waters, the Far Eastern Shipping Company said Friday.
The fishing ship with about 300 people on board has been stranded in heavy ice in the Sea of Okhotsk for two weeks. The Admiral Makarov and Krasin started towing the vessel on Wednesday afternoon, but towing ropes snapped soon after the start of the operation. The rescue resumed on Thursday morning.
“The convoy has covered 17 miles since the beginning of the rescue operation, and will reach the Bereg Nadezdy refrigerator ship after another eight miles,” spokeswoman Tatyana Kulikova said. “After the meeting with the refrigerator, they will face a very difficult stretch of ice floe before reaching clear waters.”
According to the rescue plan, the icebreakers will continue towing the Sodruzhestvo, while the Bereg Nadezhdy will attempt to sail on its own along the channel cut in the ice by Admiral Makarov and Krasin.
The weather conditions in the area continue to deteriorate rapidly. Strong winds, low visibility and shifting ice floes hamper the rescue effort, the spokeswoman said.
Photographs from the Sea of Okhotsk can be seen here:
http://en.rian.ru/photolents/20110111/162101793.html
and here:
http://english.ruvr.ru/photoalbum/39338590/39338722/index.html
Related: https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/unusually-thick-ice-traps-ships-in-the-sea-of-okhotsk/
https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/sea-of-okhotsk-rescue-update-tartar-straits-frozen-to-the-bottom/
Tags:Admiral Makarov, Krasin, Rescue, Russia, Sea of Okhotsk, Sodruzhestvo
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology | Comments Off on Sea of Okhotsk rescue operations restarted
January 11, 2011
Little news is coming out of Russia where icebreakers are battling to rescue the ships trapped in the Sea of Okhotsk. It all seems to be going much slower than hoped for and bringing the Sodruzhestvo out is clearly posing some challenges.
Itar-Tass reports:
The icebreakers Krasin and Admiral Makarov have escorted the Bereg Nadezhdy refrigerator ship to ice-free water in the Sea of Okhotsk and now are heading to rescue the Sodruzhestvo floating base still trapped in the ice, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Transport told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
“Taking into account weather forecasts, it has been decided to leave the Bereg Nadezhdy refrigerator ship in a safe sea area and send the Krasin and Admiral Makarov icebreakers to the Sodruzhestvo floating base to help it get out of ice and reach the area where the Bereg Nadezhdy is waiting,” the spokesman said, adding that the move would cut back on the length of the rescue operation. The Sodruzhestvo remains trapped in ice. It has fuel and foodstuffs enough for 75 days. Experts believe that it will be harder to take it out to clear waters because its hull is wider than that of an icebreaker. The Krasin icebreaker is expected to widen the canal for the ship’s passage.
artar Straits: graphic Wikimedia
The Tartar Straits is reported to be frozen right down to its bottom for the first time in many years. The ice field in the Sea of Okhotsk is also reported to have grown from 25km wide to 45 km wide.
“The ice has hit the bottom and the ice field is spreading northwards. The icebreakers have broken through two big floes and are facing another one. After the icebreakers get the Sodruzhestvo base to the area, where they left the Bereg Nadezhdy, the four ships will proceed to a loose ice area in a single caravan. The Magadan icebreaker and a tanker ship are waiting for them there”.
Tags:Icebreaker, Icebreaker Admiral Makarov, icebreaker Magadan, Krasin, Sea of Okhotsk, Sodruzhestvo, Tartar Straits frozen
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology, Winter | 1 Comment »
January 9, 2011
Freeing the ships – and especially the factory ship Sodruzhestvo – trapped in the Sea of Okhutsk is going to be a slow process. In addition to the Magadan and the Admiral Makarov the icebreaker Krasin has also been deployed. (This is the second Krasin and was built in 1976 in Finland – the original Krasin was built in 1916 and designed by Admiral Stepan Makarov)
The Gulf of Sakahalin is still heavy with ice. In addition to the thick ice of upto 2 m reported earlier, local ice thickness can be 2 – 4 m with chunks upto 25 m thick. Bad weather is also hampering the rescue operations.
Icebreaker Krasin: Image via Wikipedia
Itar-Tass:
MOSCOW, January 9 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s Minister of Transport Igor Levitin chaired on Sunday another meeting on the rescue operation in the Sea of Okhotsk.
“The participants in the meeting discussed the rescue operation in the anomalous bad weather conditions with persistent North-West stormy wind of 25 metres per second, zero visibility and heavy ice,” the Ministry’s press service said. On January 9, the Krasin icebreaker is expected to approach the Admiral Makarov icebreaker.
“If the weather permits, they will pull the Shore of Hope refrigerator to ice-free waters,” the source said. Earlier, the Admiral Makarov towed the Professor Kizevetter research vessel into an easily passable ice area and handed it over to the Magadan icebreaker which led it to open waters.
The third ship, the Sodruzhestvo floating base, remains stranded in the ice. Experts believe that it’s going to be harder to take it out to clear waters because its hull is wider than that of the icebreakers. The Krasin icebreaker is expected to widen the canal for the ship’s passage.
Three Russian vessels, the Sodruzhestvo, the Professor Kizevetter and the Shore of Hope got trapped in the ice of the Sakhalin Gulf, the Sea of Okhotsk, on December 30 of the past year. According to scientists who have carried out research, the thickness of ice in the Gulf in various periods may vary from two to four meters. Some chunks of ice may reach the thickness of 25 meters.
Tags:Admiral Makarov, icebreaker Magadan, Krasin, Sakhalin Gulf, Sea of Okhotsk, trapped ships
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology, Winter | 1 Comment »
January 3, 2011
Itar-Tass reports that the Magadan icebreaker is struggling through 2-meter-thick ice to reach stuck ships in the Sea of Okhotsk and another ice-breaker is on its way. This reports talks of 3 ships being trapped but other reports speak of 10 ships with over 600 crew being trapped.
Line icebreaker ADMIRAL MAKAROV: image fesco.ru
VLADIVOSTOK, January 2 (Itar-Tass) — The Magadan icebreaker of the Far Eastern Shipping Company is struggling its way through the two-meter-thick ice to rescue three ships stuck in the ice in the Sakhalin Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk, a spokesman for the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk sea rescue coordination center said on Sunday.
With a speed of 2.6 knots the icebreaker develops in conditions of the 10 point ice, she has to master five miles to reach the stuck ships, the spokesman said.
The Sodruzhestvo mother ship, the Professor Kizevetter research vessel and the Bereg Nadezhdy refrigerated cargo ship are trapped in the ice eleven to twelve miles off the Khabarovsk coastline. Their attempts to break free have been vain ….. According to the Sakhalin regional emergencies administration, there is no threat to the lives and health of crew members of the three ships. Of the three stuck ships, the Sodruzhestvo has the largest crew of 340 people. The ship has food reserves for 75 days.
The Admiral Makarov, the biggest icebreaker in Russia’s Far East, is also heading to join the rescue operations. She is expected to reach the Sakhalin Bay on January 4.
The BBC also carries a report also quoting Itar-Tass but their facts seem to have morphed along the way. Two metres is converted to 12 inches by the BBC calculator!!!!
Sea of Okhotsk: image BBC
Rescue efforts are under way to evacuate more than 600 crew on 10 ships trapped in ice in the Sea of Okhotsk. The ice is up to 30cm (12 inches) thick in some places, according to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.
The temperature in the area is -22C, according to Itar-Tass, and forecasts suggest it will fall even lower.
An Itar-Tass update is here:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15834220&PageNum=0
Tags:Admiral Makarov, Icebreaker, Magadan, Sea of Okhotsk, trapped ships in Sea of Okhotsk
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology, Winter | 5 Comments »
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