British maritime security solutions company Ambrey reported that the vessel struck a sea mine 11 nautical miles north of Sulin, Romania, near the entrance to the Sulin Channel.
The ship suffered an explosion at approximately 11:20 a.m. Latvian time. The ship dropped anchor briefly to assess the damage and moved on three hours later, Ambrey said.
This was one of the first incidents in recent months where a ship struck a sea mine. Insurers have included the Black Sea area in the high risk zone.
A Ukrainian government source confirmed that the ship had struck a mine, adding that it was likely a World War II mine or a mine placed there last year.
Joruk Isik, head of the consulting firm “Bosphorus Observer”, told the news agency “Reuters” that the ship “Kafkametler” was damaged in the explosion and suffered minor damage to the ballast tank, but the crew was not injured and is safe.
“Kafkametler” anchored in the Danube channel near the Vilkovo terminal in Ukraine, according to data published by the website “MarineTraffic.com” on Thursday evening.
Ukraine has established a temporary humanitarian corridor for cargo ships, and since August several ships have left Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
The British government warned on Wednesday that Russia may use sea mines against civilian ships in the Black Sea, including placing them near Ukrainian ports.
Ambrey said on Thursday that the incident occurred on the same day that the company “informed its customers of the possible deployment of additional sea mines by the Russian Navy to disrupt Ukrainian grain exports.”
2023-10-06 09:40:16
#Turkish #cargo #ship #hit #Black #Sea
