Black Sea: explosion on a Greek-owned cargo ship. Two Greeks were slightly injured

An explosion occurred on a Greek-owned Panama-flagged cargo ship with 18 crew members off the Danube in the Black Sea, leaving two Greek sailors with minor injuries.

According to Ukrainian sources, the bulk carrier Vyssos, flying the flag of Panama, hit a Russian mine on December 27 at 9 a.m., when the ship was heading for a cargo of grain in Izmail. The ship lost speed and control, and a fire broke out on the upper deck. To avoid flooding, the captain ran the ship aground.

“The explosion threw the stern up three meters, all systems turned off, everything died out. The blow was terrible, it’s good that everyone is alive, only I hit my head hard and injured my elbow. But our cook has a very broken head, we don’t know what’s wrong with him. When the services took me away, I was still conscious,” – said one of the crew members.

Boats of the maritime security and search and rescue service of Ukraine provided assistance to the crew and brought doctors on board. It turned out that two people were injured as a result of the explosion. One of them was treated on the spot, the second wounded was taken to a nearby hospital. His condition is satisfactory. Tugboats have been sent to the vessel and it will be delivered to the port.

Ukrainian sources claim that the explosion occurred because the ship hit a Russian mine.

According to the Greek Ministry of Shipping, of the 18 crew members, the captain and lieutenant, who are Greek, were slightly injured. The ship did not call for help and was reported to have left a port in Romania and was heading to Ukraine.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reports that “A civilian ship flying the Panama flag, heading to a Danube port to load grain, hit a Russian naval mine in the Black Sea, the defense forces of southern Ukraine said, adding that a fire broke out on board and the ship lost control. The mine explosion injured two sailors “The Ukrainian Navy sent tugboats to remove the ship and deliver it to the port.”

At present, Ukrainian statements that the explosion on the cargo ship was caused by a Russian mine have not been confirmed. In 2022, with the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Army, the Ukrainian Navy placed minefields of sea mines along the coast. After the storms, many mines broke loose from their anchors and began to drift freely across the Black Sea. Some of the mines sank, some washed ashore. This mine is likely one of the same mines installed in 2022.

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