Russian vessel "Ashamba" sinks amid rising ice chaos
The Russian research vessel "Ashamba," trapped in ice, sank at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk. According to the Ukrainian Shipping Magazine, the cause of the tragedy was the crew's failure to remove the ice. Last December, Russia lost at least three cargo ships.
Last weekend, during a severe ice storm, the small Russian research vessel "Ashamba", belonging to the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, was docked at the port in Novorossiysk.
According to the Ukrainian Shipping Magazine, the ship's crew, was unable to remove the accumulating layers of ice quickly enough, which led to the vessel gradually tilting to the left side. On Monday, the ice-laden ship sank.
At the same time, on the other side of the Kerch Strait, in the northern part of the Sea of Azov, another Russian ship was having serious issues. It was sailing under the Panamanian flag and began taking on water through a hole in the hull.
The first information about the problems with this vessel appeared on February 16th when the freighter became stuck near the port of Azov, where it was denied shelter. Russian authorities announced that tugs had been dispatched to help, and the situation was supposed to be stable. However, according to the MarineTraffic portal, the freighter remains immobilized in the northern part of the Sea of Azov.
In just December of last year, Russia lost at least three cargo ships. In the Kerch Strait, two tankers sank—Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239. Meanwhile, at the end of December, in the Mediterranean Sea, the container ship "Ursa Major" sank. In the case of this incident, the Russians accused Ukrainian military intelligence of damaging the vessel.
The series of incidents involving Russian maritime vessels suggests serious problems with fleet management and maintaining ship safety, which raises concerns about future incidents in waters controlled by Russia.
