Chinese Ship Sinks After Russian Shots; Crew Missing

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Chinese Ship Sinks After Russian Shots; Crew Missing

By Torrey Clark and Lee Spears

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- A Chinese cargo ship sank after Russian patrols

opened fire to stop the boat from reaching international waters and
escaping seizure after its rice shipment was rejected by the buyer. Eight
sailors were missing.

Maritime guards fired from mounted guns at the New Star after the captain
ignored verbal commands and warning shots while leaving the port of
Nakhodka last week, Russian Federal Security Service spokeswoman
Natalya Rondaleva said on state television.

The boat then fled to international waters and sank, forcing all 16
crewmembers to jump ship, said Captain Veniamin Ivanichev of the Marine
Rescue Center in Vladivostok. The cause of the sinking isn’t clear because
the incident occurred during a storm, he said. Half of the sailors were
returned to Nakhodka on Feb. 15 and the search continues for the other
half.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs today said it asked Russia to investigate
the “mishap” and identify the cause as soon as possible. Three Chinese
sailors have been rescued and seven are missing, ministry spokeswoman
Jiang Yu told reporters in Beijing. The other six crewmembers are
Indonesian, said Natalia Gelashvili, a spokeswoman for the Far East
Transport Prosecutors office in Nakhodka.

The New Star fled Nakhodka on Feb. 12 after the shipment of rice it
unloaded was rejected by the buyer, who then asked a court to seize
the ship while suing for damages, Gelashvili said.

Jiang declined to comment on reports that the New Star sank as a result of
Russian fire. The ship was registered in Sierra Leone and its beneficial
owner was the Chinese government, according to Bloomberg data.

To contact the reporterS on this story: Torrey Clark in Moscow at
tclark8@bloomberg.net; Lee Spears in Beijing at lspears2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 19, 2009 08:09 EST