The fire aboard the Russian vessel Kaltan is still being fought, with responders focusing on suppressing the blaze after the ship departed Vladivostok and encountered trouble near Ulsan, South Korea. The Far East Transport Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to DEA News that fresh efforts are underway to determine the causes and assess how the incident was handled as the situation evolves.
Officials from the Primorsky and Sakhalin transport prosecutor’s offices are currently conducting a joint inquiry into the fire that broke out on the Kaltan on April 21. Authorities have identified the shipowner as Dalrybprom LLC, an enterprise based roughly 30 miles from the Busan harbor area. The investigation is examining both operational procedures and safety compliance on board, with investigators seeking to understand whether established fire protection measures were properly followed and whether maritime safety standards were upheld before, during, and after the emergency.
The Far East Transport Prosecutor’s Office, through its representative, added that rescue operations are ongoing and that the fire is being actively extinguished. Preliminary reports indicate that 21 crew members have been evacuated from the vessel, with authorities coordinating medical checks and relocating personnel to secure facilities as appropriate. The focus remains on ensuring the welfare of those affected and preventing any further escalation of the incident.
Prosecutors noted that they will hold accountable those responsible for compliance with fire safety requirements and maritime safety laws, depending on the findings of the inquiry. The process is expected to cover equipment maintenance, crew training, and the adequacy of emergency response plans on the Kaltan, along with an evaluation of the ship’s overall safety readiness in similar cargo and fishing operations within regional waters.
Earlier reports from Yonhap indicated that the vessel was in South Korean waters at the time of the ignition and that a portion of the crew had not yet been accounted for. The Russian fishing vessel carried a total of 25 people at the moment the fire began, according to initial data, and the search for the missing crew members is part of the ongoing response alongside the firefighting and rescue efforts. The incident remains under close watch by both Russian authorities and South Korean maritime agencies, with cross-border cooperation in investigating the episode and in coordinating safety protocols for future operations in the area.