It is unclear how long the ship "Chelsea 3" hit by drones will remain in the Burgas port, said the director of the Maritime Administration in the city, Captain Zhivko Petrov, BNT reports. This will depend on the course of the investigation, as well as the owner's decision on its future fate.
The prosecutor's office's inspections will probably continue today, Zhivko Petrov added. The operation itself was complicated both because of the serious holes and because of the bad weather:
"The holes are large, so it was my fear, one of the risks, that this ship would break during the towing, as there really is serious structural damage. During the towing itself, there were no people on board the ship for this very reason - if the situation worsens and the ship starts to sink, the tugboat can quickly release the tow rope, the ship will sink, but no people will be hurt. The holes are serious, with one on the port side, the other on the starboard side, almost in the middle of the vessel, and the third is in the stern, where the engines are, and that is why "Chelsea 3" was left without control, explained Captain Petrov. He added that the towing also took longer because of the low speeds of seagoing vessels:
"At sea, the speeds are slightly different, the maximum speed of the tugboat is 8-9 to 10 knots - up to 15 km per hour, and in bad weather it drops significantly, that's the first thing. Secondly, the work itself on site, while the teams are boarding, while the ropes are being prepared, to release the anchor takes time. "And then the towing itself was carried out at about 2.5 knots - about 4-4.5 km per hour," said Capt. Zhivko Petrov.