An explosion and subsequent fire in the engine room of a tanker in the Black Sea north of the Bosphorus has been reported by the shipping agency „Tribeca“, quoted by Reuters.
The tanker „Kairos“, which flies the flag of Gambia, was 52 nautical miles north of the Bosphorus when the incident occurred.
According to the information, the ship is empty.
The shipping agency reports that the ship may have hit a mine and is in danger of sinking. Tugs and coast guard vessels have been dispatched to the scene.
Shipping through the Bosphorus has not been interrupted.
According to the „Bloomberg“ agency, quoted by the Greek Sky TV, the ship belongs to the so-called. Russian „shadow fleet“, used to circumvent Western sanctions against oil exports from Russia. The ship is under sanctions by the EU and the United Kingdom, but not by the United States. According to „Bloomberg“ its last course with a cargo of oil was from the Russian port of Novorossiysk to the Indian port of Paradip, from where it returned empty.