An explosion on board the Togo-flagged general cargo ship Seama near the Romanian port of Sulina on Wednesday, the 20th of September, led to the evacuation of 12 crew members, citing Romanian officials, reports Reuters.
The ship was on its way to a port on Ukraine’s Danube river. The exact cause of the explosion – whetherr it was a mine or an engine room malfunction – remains unclear, Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said.
BREAKING:
The cargo ship Seama has hit a naval mine in the Romanian port of Sulina.
12 crew members are being evacuated by the Romanian rescue services.
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— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 20, 2023
According to the Ministry of Defence, the Romanian Navy sent a mine-hunting ship with divers to Sulina to search for mines.
It should be noted that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, mines have been laid in the Black Sea by the parties involved. Military diving teams from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey have been working to neutralise mines that have drifted into their waters.
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