Survivor of 67-Day Sea Ordeal Sentenced: Tragedy in the Sea of Okhotsk Ends in Court

A court in Ulan-Ude has determined the fate of Mikhail Pichugin, a native of Buryatia who survived a 67-day drift in the Sea of Okhotsk after losing two relatives — his older brother Sergey and his 15-year-old nephew Ilya.

Photo: flickr.com by Andrés Nieto Porras, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Sea waves

A criminal case was opened against him under an article concerning violations of maritime safety and vessel operation rules, which resulted in the deaths of two people due to negligence. He had gone to sea on a catamaran with a faulty engine. He was also accused of using a knowingly forged document.

As a result, the Russian man was sentenced to three years of forced labor and fined 40,000 rubles. It is noted that during the investigation, the convicted man partially admitted his guilt.

Twenty Days Adrift with the Bodies of His Relatives

In August 2024, Mikhail Pichugin set out on a journey to the Shantar Islands aboard the catamaran "Baikat 470” together with two relatives. Their route passed through a dangerous area — the vessel entered a zone prohibited for navigation.

Trouble began on August 9, during the return trip. The vessel's cooling system failed, which led to engine breakdown. At that point, all three — Pichugin, his brother, and his nephew — began drifting. Although they initially saw the shore and hoped for rescue, overnight they were carried back into the open sea. Realizing what had happened, the teenager struck an oar in despair, breaking it, and a week later the anchor was also lost.

The young boy suffered the most. At some point, due to constant thirst, he refused food.

"One day I opened my eyes and asked my brother if everything was all right. He said: "Yes. Only my son is gone.'”

Mikhail Pichugin

The teenager's body was wrapped in tarpaulin and moved to the stern. His father, overcome with grief, began losing his sanity: he threw himself into the water, raved, cried, and blamed himself for everything. Ten days later, he also died — Mikhail Pichugin found his brother sitting motionless at the stern with his head tilted upward. His body was preserved as well.

After that, Pichugin drifted for about another 20 days with the bodies of his family members until he was finally rescued.

Rescue That Seemed Like a Hallucination

Rescue came only on October 14. On that day, Pichugin's boat was discovered by fishermen, who, as the man initially believed, were nothing more than a hallucination brought on by delirium.

After reaching shore, the exhausted Russian was handed over to doctors, who diagnosed him with dehydration and hypothermia. He was extremely weak — over two months at sea, his weight had dropped from 100 kilograms to 50 kilograms.

Some time later, the trial began. The state prosecution requested three years in a settlement colony and a fine of 50,000 rubles for the use of a forged document. Prosecutors argued that the man was aware of the engine malfunction but went to sea anyway.