Russian Naval Ship Sails to the Rescue After Typhoon Cuts Island Connection

The Admiral Nevelskoy, a landing ship from Russia's Pacific Fleet, added another string to its bow on Saturday when it transported 190 civil passengers who had been left stranded on the Russian mainland after a typhoon in the Far East which prevented ferry crossings earlier this week. 

The Admiral Nevelskoy set sail from Vanino, in Russia's Khabarovsky Kray, and reached the port of Kholmsk on the island of Sakhalin on Friday at around 1pm after a voyage of 15 hours, carrying both civil passengers and cargo. 

Admiral Nevelskoy headed to Vanino from Vladivostok after Colonel Aleksandr Gordeev of Russia's Eastern Military District announced on Thursday the Defense Ministry's decision to use a large landing craft to help those in need of transport from the mainland to the island in the aftermath of typhoon Chan-Hom, which interfered with ferry crossings in the Russian Far East after causing damage in East China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

"The Eastern Military District command has taken the decision to use a large landing craft from the Pacific Fleet to provide help to the civil population who need transportation to Sakhalin," said Gordeev, adding that Friday's sea crossing is the first of three planned for the landing ship.

The large landing craft Admiral Nevelsky first entered into naval service in 1982, under the name 'BDK-98.' On July 24, 2011 it was renamed after Admiral Gennady Nevelskoy, a nineteenth century seafarer famous for exploring the Far East. 

The ship, which measures 112.5 meters long, weighs 4,080 tons and has a top speed of 18 knots, resumed sailing in March this year after undergoing routine servicing work at the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center, based in Vladivostok. It is intended for the transportation of cargo or troops, and is capable of carrying up to 500 tons of equipment, or 250 troops.