Chinese and Russian authorities are actively advancing efforts to rescue the Chinese cargo ship Anyang-2, which ran aground 200 metres from the Port of Nevelsk on Russia's Sakhalin Island during a severe storm in February.
Staff from the Chinese consulate boarded the vessel to visit the crew after it ran aground. Heavy snow then began to fall and temperatures dropped to around -10C.
According to the office of the Chinese Consulate General in Vladivostok, a Chinese task force recently arrived in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast to consult with local government officials and rescue agencies to coordinate the salvage operation.
All 20 crew members are reportedly in good health and have sufficient supplies of food and drinking water and are in communication with the outside world. Parts of the propeller blades are visible above water and the ship's boarding ladder is in view from the coastline.
Both countries have signed a letter of intent regarding oil removal, with further efforts under way to draft the next phase of the rescue plan.
The vessel was carrying approximately 50 tonnes of diesel and 700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil when it ran aground. No pollution has been detected in the surrounding waters following the incident. - Xinhua
