Russian Freighter Disappears in White Sea, 11 Missing - UPDATE

UPDATE: Russian rescuers located the missing cargo ship early Wednesday morning.  A Russian helicopter found the ship, but didn't find any of the missing people aboard.  The vessel is reportedly run aground in the White Sea, and rescue teams are now searching for the 11 crewmembers and 1 passenger who were sailing the ship.  

Russian authorities have lost contact with the Kapitan Kuznetsov, a dry cargo freighter, while sailing in the White Sea early Tuesday morning, leaving the fate of the ship and its 11 crewmembers unknown.

The vessel was travelling from the port of Varandei in the Barents Sea to undergo repairs in Arkhangelsk.  After the North Western Shipping Co-owned Kapitan Kuznetsov was ballasting on its way to the next port, radio communication broke off around 2am local time, according to the Arkhangelsk regional office.  The vessel did not issue any SOS or distress signals prior to the loss of communication.

PHOTO: the Kapitan Kuznetsov

Rough weather conditions with 4-meter high swells were hammering the White Sea when the ship went missing.  Although the conditions are dangerous and even worse than when the ship went missing, search and rescue operations are currently underway to locate the dry bulk ship.  A nearby icebreaker called the Vladislav Strizhov has been appointed as search coordinator to respond to signals coming from the ship’s emergency radio buoy. 

Low visibility distance of about 100-500 meters, strong winds, and high swells has only allowed certain navigation classed ships to embark in the search and rescue mission.  Another icebreaker, two tugs, and two more ships have arrived at the scene to assist in finding the Kapitan Kuznetsov, in addition to an aviation search dispatched from Russia.

So far, the ship owner has not issued any information on the state of the ship.