Bad weather prevents search of trawler lost off Kamchatka

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY (Itar-Tass) - Bad weather on
Kamchatka Peninsula prevents rescuers to engage aviation in the search of
Russia's trawler Amethyst that was lost in the Sea of Okhotsk, Kamchatka's
rescue centre told Itar-Tass on Monday.
The fate of the crew remains unknown. According to specified
information, there are 23 crewmembers onboard.
In the search area wind gusts reach 25 meters per second. The
windstorm is accompanied by heavy snow, which aggravates the rescue
operation.
Communication with the ship was lost on February 11. It stopped to
transmit daily position reports through the satellite navigation system.
The trawler's last reported position was at 58 degrees 30 minutes of
northern latitude and 155 degrees and 32 minutes of eastern longitude. At
that moment the trawler had 12 tonnes of fuel in reserve with the daily
consumption of 3 tonnes.
The trawler sent no SOS signals and the emergency beacon lights were
not registered.
The trawler is owned by the Kamchatka Fisheries and Oceanography
Research Institute (KamchatNIRO). The trawler registered in the port of
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky went crab fishing.
The search and rescue operation has been underway for the third day.
Eight different vessels are engaged in the operation.
Kamchatka territory governor Alexei Kuzmitsky took the operation under
his personal control.