Investigators are considering criminal charges in the loss of the fishing vessels Adex and Nort off the coast of Kamchatka, Russian media sources report. The Kamchatka transport prosecutor’s office has taken up the case, said the Interfax news agency, and may bring charges including violation of safety rules resulting in the death of two or more persons.

On the morning of February 7, Russian SAR officials received EPIRB distress alarms from the Togo-flagged Adex (ex name Wirth) and the Sierra Leone-flagged Nort off of Paramushiro in the Sea of Okhotsk. First responders located EPIRBs belonging to both ships, along with a third EPIRB and a radar transponder beacon belonging to the Nort. An inflatable life raft, three wetsuits, two life jackets and a life buoy were also found, among other debris, but no crewmembers have been located.

Source: The Maritime Executive