A Panama-flagged bulk carrier heading to a port on the Danube River to load grain has hit a mine in the Black Sea, local media reported.
Ukraine’s southern military commented on Telegram:
“A Panama-flagged civilian vessel was blown up on an enemy sea mine in the Black Sea…The vessel lost its course and control, and a fire broke out on the upper deck.”
One person was hospitalised, another was treated on board. Tugs were sent to the scene of the accident.
The vessel was travelling along an alternative route created by Kyiv, which runs along the western coast of the Black Sea.
In July 2023, the Black Sea Fleet warned mariners of a mine hazard on a shipping route in the north-western part of the Black Sea due to the discovery of a Ukrainian mine drifting in the water area. The Russian military said it was placed by the Ukrainian military when it mined the coastal area of the Black Sea in early 2022.
In March 2022, the Federal Security Service warned that Kyiv had planted more than 400 anchor mines on the approaches to Odessa, Chernomorsk and other ports, some of which went adrift in a storm.
