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Charges against Chief Mate filed

On Nov 17 investigators have filed charges against the Chief Mate of the 'General Hazi Aslanov' in a criminal case of an explosion in the Sea of Azov. The criminal case is being investigated under Part 3 of Art. 219 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of fire safety requirements, resulting in the death of two or more people"). As part of the investigation, it was established that on board the tanker, the crew members (boatswain, sailor and a trainee), under the leadership of the accused Chief Mate, were cleaning the tanks from the remnants of the cargo, the product of oil refining "naphtha". In violation of the requirements of safety regulations on ships of the marine fleet and the instructions of the manufacturers, the accused did not ensure constant control over the observance of the fire regime on the tanker, allowed work to be performed in the absence of a flow chart defining a safe procedure for washing tanks from oil refined products. Reportedly, the investigation also believes that the accused did not personally control the concentration of gas contamination in the tanks of the vessel, allowing a trainee who was not trained in safe methods to carry out washing operations. As a result, on the evening of Oct 24, 2020, in the Sea of Azov, while the tanker was moving from the neutral waters of the Black Sea, an explosive mixture of cargo ignited in the second cargo tank. There were 13 crew members on board the tanker and 10 of them were rescued. Three people disappeared and later, their remains were found by the investigators.

Investigation file opened after explosion

The Public Prosecutor and Maritime Authority have opened an Incident Investigation file. A surveyor panel has been appointed to investigate the cause of the explosion and to assess the extent of damages. Following the technical inspection, serious structural damages were noted on the main deck, pump connections, related cargo compartments and main structure. The vessel's class status and voyage permission were suspended by the Russian classification society. The vessel in the meanwhile remains stationary atthe inner port of Krym as of Nov 2.

Search for missing crew members suspended

The search for the missing crew members of the 'General Hazi Aslanov' has been supsepnded by the MRCC Taman on Oct 26, and the search units were stood down as there was no hope to find the three alive. The ten survivors were stable. The wreck was meanwhile to an anchorage near Kavkaz.