bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Joyce Man

For two days after the collision which sank his ship, Neftegaz-67 captain Yuri Kulemesin said he did not change out of the seawater-soaked  T-shirt he was wearing when he abandoned ship.
'After the crash, there was only one thing on our minds - saving those who remained on board,' he told the Sunday Morning Post.
'So we helped the rescue workers as much as possible to find the missing. And we helped, morning, evening, and night.
'This week I have carried around the most horrible feeling,' he said, his eyes glistening with tears. 'There cannot be a more horrible feeling than this.
'I'm very ill. My crewmates are very ill,' he repeatedly said. 'Journalists keep forcing questions [on us] about how we feel, but they simply do not understand what we are going through.'
In a testing week, the six survivors assisted rescuers in their bid to locate missing crewmates and answered  investigators' questions.
During the two days immediately after the tugboat's collision with the Yaohai, a mainland bulk carrier, Mr Kulemesin, 44, shuttled in hope between land and the site where his ship lay, sunken into the mud on the seabed at a depth of 37 metres.
The seaman, who has 25 years' experience, described for rescuers the layout of the tugboat that he had captained on and off for five years, and details that could help identify missing crew members, including their dress, appearance and  their location at the time of the crash.
Shortly before Hong Kong officials called off a search for the 15 missing crew members and switched efforts to raising the tugboat, the captain, who spoke slowly, wearily, from behind a constant veil of cigarette smoke, was still hoping for a good outcome.
'We still hope that not everyone is lost. We will continue hoping until the end,' Mr Kulemesin said. 'They are members of our family.'
Mr Kulemesin said he had known three of the crew for more than five years. 'We're like friends,' he said. None of them have been found, which for Mr Kulemesin is 'the hardest part'.
On the foggy evening of March 22, Mr Kulemesin,  Igor Valchuk and at least one other crew member were on the bridge of the Neftegaz-67. Most other crew members were resting below decks at the end of a working day. Some were watching television, some were smoking in a cabin in the centre of the hull, the only place where smoking was permitted, Mr Kulemesin said.
When the collision with the Yaohai occurred, those above decks saw what had happened immediately, he said.
Those below heard it. Most rushed to where the hull had been ripped open in a bid to seal it and stop the ship sinking. They managed to close a bulkhead door, but their efforts were in vain and they were trapped as the boat, which had taken on too much water, sank.
The six who escaped  waited for 30 minutes, floating in the water and on the alert for passing vessels which might have run them down, before rescuers arrived.
The captain dismissed reports that Hong Kong authorities were slow in getting to the crash site. 'It's only thanks to them that I am still here speaking with you today. They did everything they could,' he said.
What baffles Mr Kulemesin is how the tugboat sank so fast. Such vessels  are designed to be  extremely difficult to sink. 'There can be so many reasons [why the ship sank so quickly],' he said, adding that he would  wait until investigators had examined the vessel, which he said met safety standards and was 'verified in all respects'.



Tugboat skipper tells of grim wait  for news of missing shipmates