Seafarer safety along Ukraine’s precarious grain export corridor in the Black Sea and the risk attached to aging ships, has been re-emphasised following a fatal collision between two vessels off the Bulgarian coast.
Three Syrian crew members onboard the Tanzanian-flagged Mohammed Z died when their 36-year-old vessel collided with a similar-sized carrier, the 5 444 deadweight tonnage Michel, sailing under Turkey's flag.
The Mohammed Z sank while the Michel sustained damage to its prow.
According to global ship traffic intelligence service, MarineTraffic, the Mohammed Z was sailing in a northerly direction when it went down north-east of the Port Varna, close to Bulgaria’s border with Romania.
Focus Sea TV reported that Romanian authorities “responded swiftly, deploying significant search and rescue resources throughout the weekend”.
Five seafarers were airlifted from the scene of the collision, one of whom was hospitalised.
It is understood that search and rescue efforts for the three missing crew members have been suspended.
