The court sentenced Mikhail Pichugin — he drifted for 67 days in the Sea of Okhotsk with the bodies of his brother and nephew 0 88

In October 2024, a huge number of people around the world watched the rescue of Mikhail Pichugin, who miraculously survived after two months of drifting in the Sea of Okhotsk. Along with the man, two bodies were found in the boat — his brother and nephew. A year and a half after the tragedy, a court in Ulan-Ude sentenced Mikhail, without imposing a prison term.

Together with his brother and 15-year-old nephew, Mikhail set off on a journey on an inflatable catamaran: they departed from the northern part of Sakhalin in early August 2024, planning to cover 80 kilometers, visit the Shantar Islands, fish, show the teenager Greenland whales, and return to the place where they started their Far Eastern voyage. But the trip turned into a tragedy.

Despite the fact that the men prepared well for the journey, everything went wrong on the way. Due to a malfunction in the cooling system, the boat's engine stalled. An attempt to switch to rowing failed — one of the oars broke, and the vessel was carried out to open sea.

The supplies of provisions (concentrates and instant noodles) lasted only a couple of weeks. To avoid dying of thirst, they collected rainwater. At night, the temperature in the Sea of Okhotsk dropped to critical levels. The travelers used camel wool sleeping bags, which became wet from moisture and saltwater.

The teenager died first in early September. Ten days later, his father passed away, who, according to Mikhail, went insane from grief, refused to eat, and tried to jump out of the boat. Mikhail tried to warm his brother with his body, but it did not help. For the remaining month, the man drifted alone, next to the bodies of his deceased relatives. He tied them to the boat so they would not fall overboard due to the swaying.

Mikhail was discovered on October 14 by fishermen from the vessel "Angel" off the coast of Kamchatka — nearly 1000 kilometers from the place where the engine broke down. At first, the sailors mistook the boat for a pile of debris or buoys, but upon noticing a person, they lowered a lifeboat. During the drift, Mikhail lost 50 kilograms (before the trip to the Shantar Islands, he weighed about 100 kilograms), was extremely emaciated, and suffered from hallucinations.

While the man was recovering in the hospital, investigators found that a whole chain of violations led to the tragedy. Firstly, Mikhail provided forged documents for the boat with incorrect information about the engine. Secondly, he poorly prepared the equipment: he did not clean the cooling system from salt, which caused the engine to stall. Thirdly, he went too far from the shore — 19 kilometers, although according to the rules, such a vessel should not be more than three kilometers from the shore.

A year and a half later, the court in Ulan-Ude sentenced Mikhail Pichugin. He was found guilty of violating the rules of water transport operation. It was reported that the man was sentenced to three years of forced labor. In addition, 10% of his salary will be deducted for the benefit of the state.

The defendant partially admitted his guilt. His mother, who lost her second son and grandson in this trip, asked the court not to punish him harshly, as Mikhail remained her only breadwinner.