A new Russian ferryboat sustained hull damage from ice floes off Sakhalin Island, leaving 60+ passengers and crew stranded as they awaited assistance.
The 2023-built ship (Alexandr Deev/IMO 9940186), one of the newer vessels in the Russian Far East fleet with a DWT/deadweight tonnage of 4800 tons, was navigating through challenging ice conditions, typical for the region.
Departing from Vanino (mainland) en route to Sakhalin, the ferry experienced steering gear issues ~90 minutes into the voyage, leading to its entrapment in the ice. Although designed to accommodate up to 200 passengers and with 28 vehicles/cars, the vessel only had 28 passengers and 35 crew onboard at the time.
According to the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office, the ferry's damage likely resulted from a collision with the ice floes.
Constructed in 2023 with an ice-reinforced hull capable of withstanding ice thicknesses of up to ~5 ft (1,5 m), the vessel awaited assistance from the icebreaker Captain Khlebnikov to clear its path and provide steering assistance back to Vanino.
Upon its return to port, the Transport Prosecutor’s office planned to inspect the vessel's technical condition and the crew's actions. The ferry's introduction was initially hailed by the shipping company as a significant advancement, boasting larger size and enhanced capabilities compared to the older Soviet-era ferries. One such older vessel, the Sakhalin-8, was slated to take over the crucial route between Vanino and Kholmsk on Sakhalin.
Earlier in the year, another maritime incident occurred when the supply tanker Sakhalin Island became stranded in ice floes in the Sea of Okhotsk near the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Despite the deployment of the large Russian icebreaker Bering Strait for assistance, the vessel faced challenges reaching the stranded tanker due to high ice concentration, hindering rescue efforts along the safest route while avoiding extensive ice fields.