"According to the investigators, safety rules violation during transfer is the main reason [behind the fire]. This is the primary version," Kinosiyan said, as broadcast by the Russian REN TV channel.
Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that as many as four Turkish nationals were killed, eight were rescued and four went missing after the fire broke out on board two tankers in the Kerch Strait.
READ MORE: Kerch Strait Tanker Fire Caused No Oil Spill, Environmental Damage — Authorities
On January 21, a fire broke out during the transfer of liquefied natural gas from one Tanzania-flagged vessel to another. According to the Russian Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transportation, 12 people were rescued, 10 died, and 10 have gone missing.