Chinese cargo ship runs aground in Russia’s Pacific region of Sakhalin

No fuel spillage was reported from the An Yang 2, but bad weather hindered rescue efforts

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Chinese cargo ship An Yang 2 off the southwest coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia. Photo: Press office of the governor of Sakhalin

Published: 1:21am, 10 Feb 2025Updated: 10:20am, 10 Feb 2025

The governor of Russia’s Pacific island region of Sakhalin has declared an emergency after a Chinese cargo ship ran aground off its southwest coast.

There was no danger to the crew of the An Yang 2, which is carrying coal and heavy fuel oil, Governor Valery Limarenko said in a post on Telegram on Sunday. Russia’s emergencies ministry said 20 crew were aboard.

Limarenko said that no fuel spillage was recorded, but local authorities had to be prepared for any situation. Bad weather has prevented access by rescue teams to the bulk carrier, which is stranded in shallow waters off Sakhalin’s Nevelsky district, he added.

Regional authorities said they were preparing to pump fuel out of the damaged vessel, marooned some 200 metres (650 feet) offshore.

Earlier this year, hundreds of volunteers in southwestern Russia spent weeks trying to contain a massive fuel oil spill from two storm-stricken tankers in the Kerch Strait near Crimea.

The Sakhalin region, which is located in Russia’s Far East, comprises a large island of the same name and the four Kuril Islands, the subject of a decades-long territorial dispute between Russia and Japan that has prevented them from signing a peace treaty at the end of World War 2.