Rosmorrechflot spokesman Alexei Kravchenko said that the 19 crew members of the fishing vessel Kaltan, which caught fire near Ulsan in South Korea, have been disembarked. Two more crew members continued to assist in the search for the four sailors who went missing in the emergency response. Kravchenko cited information from DEA News to outline the situation and the actions taken in the aftermath of the incident.
According to Kravchenko, the crew could have stayed aboard to combat the blaze, but instead the decision was made to bring the crew ashore. The first assistant and three other crew members were among those disembarked. In total, 19 people left the burning vessel, while the captain and the chief engineer remained involved in ongoing search operations for the missing sailors. Kravchenko emphasized that these two hold key roles in directing the rescue efforts from shore as the investigation and recovery work continued.
Two evacuees sustained minor burns, while the remaining crew members did not suffer injuries as a result of the fire. The updated casualty report reflects a relatively limited number of injuries given the scale of the incident, but it also underscores the seriousness of the blaze and the fragile state of the vessel during the emergency.
Concerning the status of the fire itself, Rosmorrechflot’s press secretary noted that there had been no confirmed news indicating that the fire on the Kaltan had been fully extinguished. Officials continued to monitor the situation and coordinate with local authorities and maritime rescue services to ensure swift containment and safe offloading of any remaining personnel.
Earlier, a representative from the Far East Transport Attorney General’s Office stated that a ship had caught fire near Ulsan, South Korea, identifying the vessel as the Russian fishing boat Kaltan from Vladivostok. The spokesperson noted that the fire was gradually dying out as firefighting efforts persisted and the crew carried out safety protocols.
Prior to these statements, Yonhap News Agency had reported that the blaze occurred within South Korean waters and that four sailors were missing after the incident. The evolving picture highlighted the challenges of offshore firefighting in busy marine lanes and the need for international cooperation in search and rescue operations involving Russian vessels operating in East Asian waters.