Russian seafarers came back on board m/v “Front Altair”

According to Aleksey Belyakov, the Chairman of the Black and Azov Seas Territorial Organization of the Seafarers' Union of Russia (SUR BASTO), most of the Russian crew of the oil tanker “Front Altair”, except of the chief officer and two cadets who had already arrived in Novorossiysk, returned on board to continue their work on the ship. 

On June, 13, the  explosions occurred on board  two ships in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. One of the ships was  “Front Altair”.   Fortunately, none of the crew consisted of 11 Russians, 1 Georgian, and 11 Filipinos, was injured. They all left the tanker shortly after the fire started and  boarded the cargo ship “Hyundai Dubai” that came to the rescue. After that  Iranian rescuers took them from that vessel and brought to the port of Jask (Iran). The crew members  of the other tanker - “Kokuka Courageous” - escaped safely too. At the moment, the exact causes of the incident are unknown, it is being investigated, however, it is already quite clear that the explosions could not have been the result of a technical failure or human error.

Previously, the owner of the affected tanker, the company “Frontline”, said  the cargo from “Front Altair” would be transferred to another vessel of the company, and the m/v “Front Altair” would be sent for repair. The ship is currently in a stable condition at anchorage near Fujairah (United Arab Emirates).

The company commended  the actions of the crew members following the sudden explosions: “We are very proud that our highly qualified crew and ship captain strictly followed the protocol and acted in accordance with the highest standards of the merchant fleet.”

On board the "Front Altair" there is a collective agreement ITF-IBF, concluded with the SUR BASTO. Aleksey Belyakov said that as far none one of the crew or  their families applied to the union.