Video: Russian Product Tanker Catches Fire

Over the weekend, the Russian Caspian Sea product tanker Palflot-2 caught fire off of Turkmenistan.

Ten members of her crew were evacuated by another vessel belonging to the same operator, national media reported. One man, chief engineer Andrey Vladimirovich Kramchuk, was reported killed. The crew were all Russian and Kazakh nationals.  

Initial reports in Russian media said that the tanker has been left to drift in Turkmenistan's waters, and Russian authorities and the ship's owners intended to let her burn out, citing the distance from Russian ports. 

However, Azerbaijani authorities with the National Center for State Maritime Administration said that they had received the vessel's distress signal and dispatched response assets, including two helicopters and four vessels. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry was not involved with the firefighting effort. 

The 3,000 dwt, 1982-built Palflot-2 is reportedly owned by Odyssey Shipping of Taganrog, Russia. Her manager and registered owner is Astrakhan Shipping Service. 

Separately, Italian officials are investigating the mysterious death of a crewmember of the product tanker Bianca Amoretti, Joshua Sorrentino, 35, who was found dead in the engine room with a cut to the throat. 

Shipowner Amoretti Armatori of Parma, Italy, confirmed the death, and said that the authorities had been contacted immediately. The Bianca Amoretti was at anchor at Malamocco, Venice, and was taken to a commercial pier for authorities to access the scene. Police are investigating the fatality, and no cause of death has yet been ruled out: accident, suicide or murder are all possible, authorities said.