Four crew members are missing at sea after a small general cargo ship capsized near Korsakov port at the southern end of Sakhalin island in the Far East.
Russian authorities have reported that three crew members were recovered, but four others are still missing after the 200-dwt, 41-metre-long cargo ship Grigory Lovtsov capsized. The ship has been sailing for Russia since 2010 and was operating with a crew of seven.
A regional governor of Sakhalin Oblast, Valery Limarenko, reported on Telegram that he believed the vessel had been overloaded. The ship was transporting cargo of sand and gravel which, the authorities say, shifted during transit, causing the vessel to lose stability on the afternoon of October 18.
Three crew members were thrown overboard as the vessel capsized. A search and rescue operation recovered the seafarers from the water and they were reported to be suffering from hypothermia. There is an unconfirmed report that two bodies were later recovered during the search.
The incident has raised concerns that safety procedures were not followed on the vessel.
