VOLGO-BALT 214

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Latest news

Body of captain found in rescue boat

The body of the last missing crew member, the captain of the "Volgo-Balt 214", has been found on Jan. 20 in a rescue boat, which belonged to the vessel. The boat was found 48 miles from the Russian port of Tuapse. The body inside was identified as the Azerbaijani citizen Turbat Ismayilov, who was the captain of the vessel.

Two more bodies pulled out of the sea

On Jan 7 two more bodies of crew members of the "Volgo Balt 214", captain Ismyilov Turbat and the Ukrainian Bodnik Ruslan (31), have been found off the Turkish Black Sea coast. The search for two more was continued by two SAR boats and a helicppter. Before, the body of an Azerbaijan crew member had been pulled out of the water. On the whole six men died and seven were rescued by the Turkish Coastguard 80 miles off the Samsun province. Among the creew were 11 Ukrainians and two Azerbaidjans. Survivors stated that a high wave broke off the bow of their ship which had been carrying 3.300 tons coal.

Sunken ship had record of defiencies

Six of the 13 crew members, among them the master of the "Volgo Balt 214" died on Jan 7 after their vessel sank in the Black Sea. The ship was under way off the northern coast of Turkey in the morning, carrying coal from Azov to Samsun, when she encountered heavy weather and went down after being struck by a large wave. As a result of the shock of the wave, the ship broke and began to sink. The crew sent a distress signal. Helicopter aircrews from the Turkish Coast Guard were on scene at 10 a.m. and they successfully recovered the bodies of the deceased and brought the survivors to shore. The seven surviving crewmembers were in good health. The cause of the accident was under investigation. The vessel received 49 PSC inspection deficiencies over the past two years, including a detention in Azov in 2017 for alleged hull damage impairing seaworthiness due to cracking. That inspection also allegedly found improper freeboard marks and signs of hull corrosion. The Turkish ship manager operates six other sister ships of the same name, vintage and pattern of inspection deficiencies - including additional recorded instances of allegedly deficient structural conditions. Report with videos: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/video-six-dead-after-soviet-era-freighter-sinks-in-black-sea