YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, January 16 (RIA Novosti) – The crew of a Russian cargo vessel trapped in ice off far-eastern Sakhalin Bay since last month has been air-lifted by helicopter and sent home, a spokesman for a local rescue center said Thursday.
The Diomid cargo vessel, with 15 crew members on board, was en route from Magadan to the port of Vladivostok when it became trapped in ice off the northwestern coast of Sakhalin Island on December 30.
A total of 12 crew members were evacuated Thursday and sent to Khabarovsk. The rest of the crew – two mechanics and a guard – will remain on board until the springtime to protect the ship from pillaging.
Earlier this week, a Russian research ship, the Akademik Shokalsky, which had been trapped in Antarctic ice for several weeks, arrived in a New Zealand port to undergo repair work.
