Missing Russian cargo ship found

VLADIVOSTOK - The missing Russian cargo ship, Amurskaya, had been found at the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk off Russia's Far East coast, the Itar-Tass news agency reported Wednesday.

The ship, with more than 700 tons of gold ore and nine crew members on board, was bound for the Shantar Islands in the Okhotsk Sea when it went missing on Oct 26 after sending a distress signal.

One week later, a rescue ship found a light emission of fuel on the sea surface and an underwater object lying at a depth of 25 meters that proved to be the missing cargo vessel.

An investigation found the Amurskaya left port without permission and was in breach of the minimum crew requirement.

The vessel was also not certified to transport raw materials, investigators said, adding its load was way beyond its capacity of 611 tons.