HONG KONG (Thomson Financial) - Hong Kong officials said today there was no
sign of life from the 18 Ukrainian crew believed trapped in their sunken ship on
the ocean floor, with hopes for their survival fading by the minute.
While declining to deliver a final verdict, the head of the city's maritime
department said that medical experts had indicated the missing crew might
survive around 12 hours -- but the 48-hour mark was fast approaching.
Marine divers had carried out "numerous" dives to the Naftogaz-67, which
sank off Hong Kong and came to rest on the ocean floor at a depth of 37 metres
on Saturday night, said department head Roger Tupper.
"They have been continuously knocking on the hull of the vessel to try and
see if there's any response," Tupper told a news conference.
"We haven't had any response from within," he said. "We have not been able
to ascertain where these 18 missing seafarers are at the moment."
The tug had 24 Ukrainian crew and one Chinese sailor aboard when it collided
with a Chinese cargo ship on Saturday. Six Ukrainians and the Chinese sailor
were rescued.
If the sailors do not survive, it would be the worst marine disaster for
decades in Hong Kong, one of the world's leading ports and maritime centres.
Tupper said rescuers were struggling with the fact that the boat was
overturned, meaning the hatches and deck were embedded in the ground -- and that
it was extremely cold and dark down at that depth.
There had originally been hopes that the crew might have found an air pocket
in the engine room or cabins of the vessel, which was detained in Hong Kong five
years ago for an inadequate escape system, local media reported today.
Ukraine's ambassador to China, Serhiy Kamyshev, visited the wreck site on
Monday to observe rescue operations.
In Ukraine, the president of energy company Chornomornaftegaz, which owns
the ship, expressed hope yesterday for the missing crew.
"We have not lost hope of finding the other sailors alive, as long as they
are in the interior (of the ship) where there are still pockets of air," said
Anatoly Prisiazhnyuk, who said he spoke by telephone with the ship's captain.
The captain, who was among those rescued, reportedly blamed the Chinese ship
for the collision, saying it had refused to give his tug the right of way.
"He had received from the controller permission to pass. The Chinese cargo
ship should have let it pass, but it did not do that," said Prisiazhnyuk.
Ukraine said Sunday it would send investigators to the scene, Interfax
reported from Kiev.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko called on his government to support
the Chinese rescuers and "provide medical aid and all that is needed for the
Ukrainian sailors who have been rescued," said his spokeswoman Irina Vannikova.
The Naftogaz-67 had reportedly been operating since 2002 for the Swiss
company Fortranse Ltd in the South China Sea between China, Singapore, Malaysia
and Indonesia.
tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com
afp/cmr
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
|