One of the main figures in the investigation of the tragedy in the Sea of Okhotsk has given FSB previously unknown documents concerning the preparations to the towage of the platform.
The Kolskaya drilling rig with 67 people aboard was being towed in a severe storm when it overturned and sank some 200 km off the Sakhalin Island in December 2011. The waves were 5-6 meters high and the water temperature around 1°C.
53 people died in the accident, making it the largest in the history of the Russian oil and gas sector. 14 people were rescued. At least 32 of the crew of 67 came from the Murmansk region. The rig was owned by Murmansk-based company Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka (AMNGR).
According to the new evidence in the case, several important specialists left AMNGR just before the towing was to take place, and the company’s top management went on urgent business trips, TV21 reports, citing Izvestiya.
A report following the investigation of the accident blamed seven people – four managers in Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka (AMNGR), the captain of the “Magadan” icebreaker that was towing the rig, a representative from the icebreaker’s owners and the captain of “Kolskaya”, who died in the accident. The report concluded that serious mistakes were made during the towing of the rig. The captain changed the route without giving notice to AMNGR; AMNGR failed to evacuate non-essential personnel from the rig before towing; distress signal was sent out too late; the icebreaker failed to come to rescue in time.
