Four containers have been spotted drifting east of the Burgas Bay. They were spotted at 10:55 Bulgarian time, and their positions are changing under the influence of sea currents. Mariners are warned to move with increased caution and to keep a safe distance.
According to information on Maritime.bg, this is most likely part of the cargo of the container ship CONTSHIP JET, which sank southeast of Varna after being hit by naval drones. The ship was sailing under the Liberian flag from Haifa to Constanta and was carrying 421 containers. About 20 containers fell into the water in the incident, with other published data indicating 21.
Among the cargo on board were lithium-ion batteries, acids, corrosive liquids, flammable liquids, ethanol solutions, household chemicals, plastics, construction materials and industrial components. Maritime.bg also reports that some of the containers contained cargo belonging to Bulgarian legal entities.
No pollution detected
The sea currents in the area direct floating objects from north to south, but this does not mean that the containers will necessarily reach the Bulgarian coast. Experts warn that if they sink, the metal walls can gradually be destroyed by seawater, which would create a risk of leakage of hazardous substances.
Seawater inspections continue. The director of the Basin Directorate “Black Sea Region“ Yavor Dimitrov said: “As of the beginning of this monitoring, we have not reported any exceedances in any of the indicators“. The studies cover petroleum products, heavy metals and other physicochemical indicators. In previous samples, a deviation in ammonium nitrogen was reported near Sozopol, but experts do not link it to the sunken ship.
Monitoring of the area and the state of the marine environment will continue until the containers are located or sunk.
Sources: maritime.bg, flagman.bg, 24chasa.bg