OREANDA-NEWS. On 10 July 2008 was announced, that the Captain Uskov bulk carrier left the Russian port of Nakhodka with a cargo of metal on January 15, 2008 and headed to Hong Kong (China). The last radio contact with the vessel was on January 20, 2008, when the ship was 220 marine miles to the east of the Shanghai Seaport. The vessel never reached its ultimate destination. The Vladivostok-based rescue coordinating centre gave a signal on the disappearance of the Captain Uskov to the whole fleet, as well as addressed rescuers in China, Republic of Korea and Japan to contribute into the effort to locate the cargo ship. The International Maritime Organization was promptly notified of the missing cargo vessel.

IJSC Ingosstrakh initiated a number of search and rescue activities. The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (Malaysia) notified maritime police, coastguards, navy and administrations of seaports in the neighboring areas. Ingosstrakh used its network of regional representatives to conduct search operations in the waters of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China.

The investigation was based on a number of versions of what could have happened to the ship, however, no actual cause of why the ship went missing was identified. Once the investigation was completed, IJSC Ingosstrakh acknowledged total loss of the bulk carrier in view of the circumstances, and paid insurance indemnity in full, therefore discharging all of its commitments under the hull insurance policy.

The crew of the Captain Uskov consisted of 17 citizens of the Russian Federation. IJSC Ingosstrakh is genuinely regretful of their yet unknown fate, despite the continuing search. The issue of payment of compensations, if the crew is acknowledged missing, will be settled between the owner of the ship and the liability insurer on the basis of applicable legislation and insurance terms.

According to Director of the Claims Administration of Ingosstrakh Vadim Semienkov, despite the significant advancement of ship communication and monitoring systems, sometimes vessels go missing even in our days.