NOVOROSSIYSK. Nov 11 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's Chernomorsk vessel is in distress in the Kerch Strait, a source in the Emergencies Ministry's southern regional center told Interfax- Military News Agency on Tuesday.
"The Cherkomorsk vessel is in distress 30km north of Cape Akhilleon. Its engines are out of order, it has lost one of its anchors and the other one cannot hold the ship," the source said.
There are practically no vessels in the disaster area, he said.
"Most of the ships have found a refuge from the storm which totals four points, which is very dangerous for navigation at such depths. The wind is also very strong, it totals 20mps," the source noted.
The Admiral Ushakov and Apach-1 towboats have left Novorossiysk for the disaster area, he went on.
"There is no data on victims among the Chernomorsk crew, and the towboats are expected to arrive at the disaster area at about 2:00 p.m. Moscow time (1400 GMT)," he said.
The North Caucasus regional border guard directorate told Interfax-AVN that the Ilyich picket located on the seashore is observing the vessel in distress.
"Unfortunately, we cannot quickly send our ships to rescue the Chernomorsk, as in this area we only have the boats that are operational when the sea swell does not exceed three points," he said.