The technical conditions of the Ukrainian ship the St. Sophia are a threat to the safety of the sailors on board, the Strong Ukraine Party reports.
"We have discovered the actual technical condition of the ship. Water continues seeping in. The propulsion engine is already below water. As water rises, the list increases, and in the near time it may reach an irreversible point, at which it will be impossible to tow the ship," the party’s press service informs.
According to information, a stern-tube bearing that has cracked and is out of order now, constitutes the greatest danger to the ship. "In fact, this is a valve which keeps back the seawater. An ordinary rope is holding the lever of the valve closed. If it fails, the ship will remain afloat for a maximum of two hours," the Strong Ukraine’s press service informed.
According to the information, it is already impossible to stop the water seeping into the machine compartment, and the ship has no power.
"In such conditions the ship will sink in two or three days. The crew has given a distress signal, but no ship has come to help yet," reads the information.
The party informed that the initiative group of the "Asol Seamen Relief Fund" Charitable Organization headed by Odesa City Council deputy Svitlana Fabrykant are holding talks on organization of towing the ship and rescuing the sailors. An attempt to evacuate the sailors from the ship will be made at 16:00, Kyiv time.
Later, the party’s press services reported, referring to Fabrykant’s information that eleven crewmembers of the St. Sophia ship are all right. But the Egyptian authorities and Odesa ship-owner are absolutely indifferent towards the numerous distress signals that the Ukrainian sailors have been sending for four months.
"All maritime laws [are being violated], as if the crew sends two distress signals, set off eight signal rockets, [this] meant that the crew and the ship are in distress. The ship is sinking here, not far from Port Said in international waters. No one has accepted this crew or even come to the ship to respond to the distress signals," Fabrykant commented by phone on the situation.
As reported, the St. Sophia has been at a remote roadstead at Port Said near the Suez Canal since May 5, 2010. The port authorities had not allowed the ship to enter the port for repairs, or to take on supplies of drinking water and food, because the company operating the vessel owed it debts.
The inspection by the Suez Canal claimed the ship is not seaworthy and is in a critical state through the fault of the operator company and ship owner.
