General cargo vessel named MARIA reportedly lost a part of its cargo, sawn lumber, on either 7 or 8 Aug, close to Preobrazhenya, south Primorye, Russia, Japan Sea. AIS has been recorded missing since 2 Aug, the vessel loaded timber at Olga port in Primorye. She was sailing in the southern direction. Per local sources, the ship following the accident sailed to Plastun Bay and was also anchored there. The ship is safe but requires shifting and fixing the deck cargo bundles.
The vessel was operating with a crew, and some reports mentioned that the cargo of veneer and lumber appears unstable or seems to have been shifted as the vessel was departing the port. Three days after it set sail from Olga, residents found about two-thirds of a mile of the coastline blanketed with lumber and veneer cargo. Reports further mentioned that local fishermen had been complaining and the port had to be closed while efforts were being made to get rid of the floating wood from the harbor’s entrance.
Video Credits: Blacks Vodkas / YouTube
The vessel was ordered to anchor in a secure cove while trials could be executed to stabilize the cargo. Images highlight large portions of the stacks intact even though in places the wood is loose and has started hanging from the ship’s side. It is not clear yet if the vessel has faced poor weather or if it was something else that caused the cargo to fall overboard. There were no reported injuries to the crew members.
Images have started flooding social media platforms showing the shoreline of a remote village in Russia littered with wood cargo. An examination spearheaded by Russian authorities reports that a cargo vessel operating from the Russian timber firm named Terneyles dumped a portion of the cargo overboard and began washing up on the shore and clogging the harbor’s entrance.
References: Maritime Bulletin, FleetMon