A Greek cargo ship struck a sea mine in the Black Sea on Thursday. The explosion took place near the mouth of the Danube. According to the Ukrainian military, a fire broke out on board: the captain deliberately grounded the ship to prevent it from sinking.
None of the crew members were seriously injured in the incident. The Ukrainian army assumed that a Russian naval mine had been detonated on Thursday. However, a representative of shipping company NAVA Shipping in Athens said the cause of the accident was still unclear. “We don’t know yet what exactly happened, but the captain told us there was an explosion.”
18 crew members on board
The Maritime Bulletin website reported that the mine exploded under or near the stern of the cargo ship Vyssos. The fire was eventually extinguished. The Panamanian-flagged ship was heading to the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail to pick up a cargo of grain. There were reportedly 18 crew members on board, mainly Egyptians.
Due to the risk of a Russian attack from the sea, Ukraine mined parts of the Black Sea coast shortly after the outbreak of war in February 2022. When a dam on the Dnipro River burst in June 2023, a number of landmines laid in southern Ukraine were washed into the sea. Ukraine also accuses Russia’s Black Sea Fleet of using mines to disrupt maritime trade in the Black Sea.
As a result of the Russian war of aggression, the transportation of Ukrainian wheat, which is in demand all over the world, through Ukrainian Black Sea ports is hampered. Exports via the Ukrainian Danube ports of Reni and Izmail and the Romanian Danube Delta have therefore developed into an important alternative route.
Source: Krone
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