Two crew members were hurt when a bulk ship flying the Panamanian flag collided with a Russian mine in the Black Sea while en route to the River Danube port for loading grain. The incident, which happened on Wednesday, is the most recent in a run of incidents in which civilian ships have come into contact with explosives in the Black Sea. Kyiv has attributed the increase to increased Russian attacks on port and shipping infrastructure. Requests for comment from the Russian Ministry of Defense have not yet been answered.
A fire started on the upper deck when the ship lost control and direction. The ship’s Master and an Egyptian sailor were injured, the head of the regional prosecutor’s office in Odesa said, with the latter being transported to a hospital in Izmail. The problem happened early on Wednesday at a river mouth, and the ship stopped providing location updates, according to MarineTraffic.
Ambrey, a British marine security company, claims that the vessel, called the VYSSOS, was headed for Izmail. Its stern was struck by a mine, which destroyed machinery and equipment. There were three Ukrainians, one American, and thirteen Egyptians among the eighteen crew members on board.
Moscow allegedly started attacking Ukraine’s port facilities more often in mid-July, the same month that it withdrew from an accord mediated by the UN that guaranteed the security of Ukraine’s grain supply traveling across the Black Sea. In retaliation, Kyiv claimed that Russian soldiers had placed bombs nearby and set up a detour along the western beaches of the Black Sea.