Icebreaker rescue of Russian vessels `cost $5 million`
Russia`s operation to rescue its vessels that stuck in thick ice in the Sea of Okhotsk in late December cost $5 million, Far Eastern Shipping Company spokeswoman Tatyana Kulikova said Monday.
The Russian Transportation Ministry said the Krasin and Admiral Makarov icebreakers rescued the ice-trapped mother fishery ship Sodruzhestvo on Sunday, ending the month-long operation.
The icebreakers resumed towing the vessel toward clear waters on Wednesday. The rescue operation was earlier suspended due to poor weather conditions.
The Sodruzhestvo, the Bereg Nadezhdy ship and the Professor Kizevetter research vessel, carrying altogether over 400 people, got stuck in two-meter-thick ice in the Sea of Okhotsk on December 31. Two other ships, the Mys Yelizavety and the Anton Gurin, became trapped a few days later.
The Admiral Makarov released the Professor Kizevetter and the Mys Yelizavety vessels from the ice trap, while the Anton Gurin managed to cope on its own. The Bereg Nadezhdy was successfully towed to clear water on January 24.
The Sodruzhestvo was the hardest to tow due to its wide body. The icebreakers had to coordinate their efforts to clear a wide canal in thick ice for the vessel to finally reach open waters.
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