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Article

19 Dec 2011

Author:
Khristina Narizhnaya, The Moscow Times

4 dead, 49 missing after Far East oil rig sinks [Russia]

At least four people died when the floating Kolskaya oil rig overturned and sank with 67 people on board in the stormy Sea of Okhotsk as it was being towed to shore, 200 kilometers off Sakhalin Island. Fourteen people survived with minor injuries and 49 were reported missing...the Transportation Ministry said…The Kolskaya, owned by state-owned offshore drilling company Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, was being transported to Sakhalin after testing the Pervoocherednaya deep-sea oil well. The rig's captain sent an SOS signal…to evacuate people during a storm. But soon after, waves damaged the rig's pipes and knocked out cafeteria windows…It sank in 20 minutes at a depth of more than 1,000 meters…The Transportation Ministry opened an investigation. The drilling rig was built in 1985 by Finnish company Rauma-Repola and is now owned by Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, a subsidiary of state-controlled Zarubezhneft…The average lifetime of a floating oil rig is usually about 18 years, meaning the Kolskaya should have been put out of service about six years ago, Greenpeace Arctic project coordinator Roman Dolgov said. The accident, he said, raises questions about the competence of the people involved in the operation, especially since rigs are not supposed to be moved during a storm…"Energy organizations are taking colossal risks for economic gains," said Alexei Knizhnikov, an oil and gas expert at the World Wildlife Fund.