TALLINN - A cargo ship carrying aluminum sank in the Gulf of Finland after colliding with a second vessel on March 4. All crew members were safely evacuated onto a Russian icebreaker. The accident, which occurred in Estonia's territorial waters some 45 kilometers off the Finnish coast, involved the ships Runner 4 and Svjatoi Apostol Andrey.
The sinking is the latest in a string of collisions and incidents in the gulf and the Baltic Sea this winter, where sailing has become increasingly hazardous due to a cold winter and an ever larger number of ships plying the channels.
Anti Hirvoja, adviser to the Estonian Maritime Administra-tion, said authorities were informed about the accident via the mandatory reporting system a little before midnight. The vessel went down within signal-distance from the Vaindloo lighthouse.
"When the Maritime Administration received the message about the accident, the ship had already sunk 's its crew most likely didn't send a mayday signal. The Maritime Administration notified the Border Guard's maritime surveillance center," Hirvoja told the Baltic News Service.
According to initial information by the Maritime Administration, the ship's owner was based in Latvia. However, on March 6, Latvian authorities announced that the country had no links to the ship.
The accident occurred because both ships were travelling in a caravan, led by an icebreaker. Due to weather conditions, the ice channel collapsed, which in turn stalled the Runner 4. The vessel following it was unable to stop in time and hit the Runner 4's stern, puncturing a hole into the engine room.
It only took four minutes for the cargo ship to sink. Luckily, this was enough time for crew members to escape the vessel by climbing aboard the Russian icebreaker, Kapitan Sorokin.
Raul Tell, departmental head at the Maritime Administration, said the Runner 4 measured 80 meters in length and a little over 19 meters in width. Built in 1976, the vessel had a displacement of 3,466 tons and was sailing under the Dominican flag.
"The ship was carrying a cargo of aluminum and had a crew of 14," Tell said. All crew members were Russian citizens.
The Estonian Border Guard said the collision occurred in a caravan of ships following the Russian icebreaker, which had begun its journey in St. Petersburg.
The third party in the collision, the Maltese-flagged cargo ship Svyatoi Apostol Andrey, sustained limited damage and continued under its own power.
The vessel sank to a depth of about 80 meters, which means that the wreckage poses no danger to other ships. The sunken ship contains 102 tons of heavy fuel, 35 tons of light fuel oil and 600 liters of lubricant oil.
According to preliminary reports no pollution was observed at the site. But on March 7, a Border Guard helicopter detected pollution in the area. The copter, using a state-of-the-art lidar device, detected an oil slick about one kilometer-long in the ice channel where the ship had sunk.
A lidar is capable of detecting and analyzing pollution below the water's surface and amid floating ice. According to a Border Guard spokesperson, an area of about five square kilometers was scanned during the course of the flight.
The Border Guard immediately forwarded the information to the Environment Inspectorate, the Rescue Board and the Interior Ministry.
The Environment Inspectorate will collect samples of the pollution and analyze its impact on the environment.
Meanwhile, preparations have been made to survey the wreckage with a remote controlled camera from the Finnish border guard vessel Merikarhu.
