Tanker Suffers Engine Room Explosion at Russian Port of Ust-Luga

 

A tanker full of fuel oil sustained an explosion and may have partially sunk at the pier at the key Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga, according to Russian sources. 

Security services-linked channel Baza reports that the tanker Koala was preparing to depart Ust-Luga in the early hours of Sunday morning when she suffered an engine room explosion. Three separate blasts were reported as the vessel was preparing to depart, and the 24 crewmembers abandoned ship onto the pier.

The engine room flooded, and the tanker settled slowly by the stern until it made contact with the bottom, Baza reported The majority of the ship remains afloat, and at present no pollution has been reported. None of the crewmembers were injured. 

Official reports have presented conflicting information. Russia's Marine and River Transport Agency reports that the tanker is not in danger of sinking and that its cargo tanks are undamaged. According to the regional governor of Leningrad, the explosions were a "man-made incident" during engine startup, and the tanker remains securely moored at the pier. The cause of the casualty is under investigation. 

Koala is a Turkish-owned, Cypriot-managed Suezmax of 160,000 dwt capacity. She is 22 years old, past the typical retirement age for a crude oil tanker, and has changed her flag state four times in the past year. Her port state control inspection record shows infrequent checks, but no recent deficiencies. 

The blast was the second major casualty of the weekend in Russia. On Saturday, the Chinese bulker An Yang 2 ran aground on a rocky shoreline off Sakhalin in the Russian Far East. 

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Sunday that Finland is monitoring the situation and has put its oil spill response capabilities on alert as a precautionary measure.