Ship Between Rock And Hard Place Cargoless Ship, Torpedoed By Nose Dive In Russian Economy, Remains In Dire Straits

Free engine repairs. Free shoreto-ship delivery of 10,000 gallons of water. Free food. An offer of 50,000 gallons of free Boeing Co. fuel.

On the surface, it seems the 22-member crew of the Dmitriy Laptev should be thrilled with the generosity of Americans and looking forward to heading home to Russia after nearly three months of living aboard their small vessel.

But to them that “solution” has tragic overtones.

“If they don’t go back with a cargo, they’re finished,” said Lee Maxey of Seattle, a former minister who established a fledgling export business with humanitarian underpinnings.

When the Laptev departed Russia for Everett, the plan was to pick up a load of staples such as meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables, flour and sugar. The goods would be sold in the arctic city of Provideniya, Russia, which struggles with food shortages.

The profits were to be used to finance additional food imports and ultimately the creation of new enterprises and jobs in Provideniya, Maxey said. That city, which lies across the Bering Strait from Nome, Alaska, has suffered economically from the breakup of the former Soviet Union and needs to become self-sufficient, he said.

But while the ship was en route, the Russian ruble took a nose dive. Maxey’s partner, a Provideniya merchant, had raised $3.5 million to $5 million in investment capital for the deal. But on Black Tuesday, as Oct. 11 became known, that backing disintegrated.

The ship arrived Oct. 17 at the Port of Everett, about 30 miles north of Seattle, where it remained berthed for a month. By the time the port asked the Laptev to leave, to make room for another ship, it owed $4,500 in unpaid docking fees.

Since then, the ship has been anchored a halfmile offshore.Going home without a cargo is inconceivable for crew members, Maxey said. They haven’t been paid for seven months, and they will desperately need a paycheck when they return to their families. The ship’s captain faces a ruined career.”The only other work is the (Russian) mafia,” he said.

What they need seems impossible: either donated cargo or investors willing to risk buying food now and trusting they’ll be repaid after the ship reaches Provideniya.

In November, a miracle seemed within reach. An Indiana-based organization had five shiploads of food ready to donate but decided to send that aid to Bosnia-Herzegovina instead.

Meanwhile, a communications mix-up resulted in a second Russian ship, the Fidor Matisen, arriving in Puget Sound to take advantage of that almost-opportunity. That ship, owned by the same St. Petersburg company as the Laptev, has been anchored at Port Angeles on the northern side of the Olympic Peninsula since Dec. 9.

Both local communities have been generous, supplying food, supplies and Christmas decorations for the crews of both ships.