Teams from the Executive Agency Maritime Administration inspected the sunken container ship CONTSHIP JET and do not expect major harm to the sea or the coast, the Varna regional administration said. Experts say the fuel should not reach the Bulgarian shore.
The ship, which was sailing from Haifa to Constanta, was hit on Wednesday off Cape Kaliakra, close to Bulgaria's territorial waters. Three sea drones struck it and it sank. The whole crew was rescued. This is not the first time sea drones have hit a merchant ship in this part of the Black Sea.
The background: Eftimov: drones that hit container ship in Black Sea came from the east
The agency said the ship was carrying light diesel, which evaporates fairly quickly if spilled. The teams gave their assessment to Varna regional governor Mario Smarkov.
Water samples will be taken today at five points along the Black Sea coast to check whether the incident has caused pollution. Monitoring of the sea goes on.
The crew had 18 people, 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians. All were taken to Varna.
Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov, commander of the Bulgarian Navy, said last night that the ship had 421 containers on board with various fuels and other dangerous cargo. Twenty of them fell into the sea.