Moscow: Authorities in Russia’s Sakhalin region have declared a high alert in parts of the area after a cargo ship ran aground off the island’s southwest coast, Governor Valery Limarenko announced early Sunday.
“No fuel spillage was recorded, there is no threat to the life and health of the crew,” Limarenko stated on the Telegram messaging app.
The vessel became stranded in shallow waters near the Nevelsky district, he said. According to Russia’s TASS news agency, the ship is a foreign-flagged cargo vessel, though further details regarding its origin and cargo remain undisclosed.
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“The situation requires prompt control and readiness for any scenario. At my request, a high alert regime has been introduced in the (Nevelsky) district,” Limarenko added.
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The Sakhalin region, located in Russia’s Far East, includes Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands chain. The area has long been a point of geopolitical tension. At the end of World War II, Soviet troops took control of four islands off Japan’s Hokkaido—known as the Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. The ongoing territorial dispute has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a formal peace treaty.
