OREANDA-NEWS.  A Xing Yuan dry cargo ship has been washed up on the quay of the town of Kholmsk in the Sakhalin region, according to the regional EMERCOM's website.

"There is a crew of 12 people, Chinese citizens, on board the vessel. The crew did not request evacuation, there is no threat to the life and health of the crew. There is no fuel spill,"- it said.

The front of the vessel is five metres off the shore, the rear is about 30 metres away, Sakhalin Info reported. The dry cargo vessel was washed up against the quay near Primorskiy Boulevard.

Sakhalin rescuers are exploring the possibility of bringing the vessel off the shore, but much will depend on the weather. No precipitation in Kholmsk district now, wind speed on land is about 13 m/s. At sea the wind is stronger.

According to the locals, Xing Yuan ran aground in the same spot where the Belgian cargo ship "Christopher Columbus" was washed ashore in 2004.

The day before, on December 5, Russian vessel Ruslana nearly ran aground on the beach of Polish resort Sobieszewo in the Gulf of Gdansk. The ship was travelling at 11 knots out of the fairway. At the last moment, when the vessel was about a kilometre from the shore, the crew turned the ship 180 degrees and it headed for the port of Gdańsk.

The cargo ship was detained. When the border guards boarded it turned out that the captain and his two assistants were drunk, the Polish Maritime Administration said.