The motor ship “Chelsea-3“ is expected to dock in the port of Burgas at around 7:00 AM, after the actual phase of the operation to tow it began at night. At 8:25 PM on October 16, the tugboat “Aliot“ began towing the vessel.
The operation is led by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Executive Agency “Maritime Administration“. Upon arrival, the captain of the port of Burgas, Zhivko Petrov, and the competent authorities will carry out the mandatory checks and actions.
„The ship is expected to dock at around 7:00 in the port of Burgas“, the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced.The operation was resumed after an interruption due to bad weather
The towing was resumed after the previous attempt was temporarily suspended due to a sharp deterioration in weather conditions and strong sea waves. Then „Aliot“ reached the ship, but the transfer of the emergency group was not carried out due to the risk to the teams.
When resuming, „Chelsea-3“ was located 12.5 nautical miles south of Maslen Nos and 10.7 nautical miles east of Lozenets. Its anchor has caught the seabed and provided stability to the vessel. A second vessel of the same owner, the – “Chelsea-2“, is also scheduled to participate in the operation.
The vessel was hit by drones near Byala
“Chelsea-3“ sails under the Maltese flag and was traveling empty from the Turkish port of Giresun to Giurgiuleşti in Moldova. On October 13, the vessel was hit by drones about 17 nautical miles east of Byala.
All 15 crew members were rescued. After the incident, the ship was left without people on board in the open sea, and subsequently began to drift south due to the deteriorating sea conditions.
Sources: bta.bg, dariknews.bg, bgonair.bg