Russian man who survived 2 months adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk is sentenced to forced labor in relatives’ deaths

Source: RBC

A court in Ulan-Ude, the capital of Russia’s Buryatia region, convicted Mikhail Pichugin on charges stemming from the deaths of two relatives and sentenced him to three years of forced labor with 10 percent of his wages withheld, the Russian business news outlet RBC and the Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Pichugin was tried on charges of violating maritime safety and operating rules, resulting in the deaths of two people through negligence, and of using a knowingly forged document.

In the summer of 2024, Pichugin set out for the Shantar Islands with his brother Sergei and nephew Ilya. The three were returning by catamaran across Sakhalinsky Bay when contact was lost on August 9. In mid-October, the vessel was found in the Sea of Okhotsk. Pichugin was the only survivor; his brother and nephew had died.

Investigators said the catamaran’s engine broke down 19 kilometers (12 miles) from shore, even though Pichugin was not permitted to operate the vessel more than 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from the coast.

The court found that Pichugin had entered false information into a contract he later used to register the catamaran with the Emergency Situations Ministry, and that he had violated maritime safety and operating rules while knowing the outboard motor’s cooling system was faulty.

Prosecutors had sought a three-year sentence at a minimum-security prison.

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Russian man who survived 2 months adrift in the Sea of Okhotsk is sentenced to forced labor in relatives’ deaths

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