The Maritime Rescue Service has reported the completion of the Koala tanker's sealift

Divers in the port of Ust-Luga (Leningrad Region) have completed work on sealing the hull of the tanker Koala, damaged as a result of an explosion in the engine room. This was reported in Morspassluzhba on February 20.

Specialists applied metal sheets to the damaged areas using underwater welding. A total of 51 descents were carried out, and the work lasted 43 hours.

According to the Morspassluzhba, after sealing, pumping of water from the starboard shaft has begun. Also heating of fuel oil in cargo tanks continues, the temperature of which has already reached 47 degrees Celsius. There are about 130 thousand tons of fuel on board the vessel.

In the near future, the emergency tanker is planned to be towed to the roadstead of the seaport of Ust-Luga, where a safe place for its parking will be selected.

On the wave: what happened to tankers on Sakhalin and in the Leningrad region

Two major accidents are currently under active remediation efforts

Earlier, February 9, it was reported that the tanker Koala, with 130 thousand tons of fuel oil on board, sank in the port of Ust-Luga. Later, the governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said that the ship's engine had failed, resulting in damage to the engine room. He noted that the tanker was moored at the berth, and there was no threat of an oil spill.