Bulgaria sends helicopter and navy to rescue damaged Russian tanker, but weather prevents it

Bulgaria has launched an operation to rescue one of the Russian shadow fleet vessels that was damaged in the Black Sea in early December. About it reported ministry of Transport and Communications.

The rescue operation in Bulgarian territorial waters was attempted by the Maritime Administration, the Border Police and the Navy.

on December 5, maritime surveillance and control services found that the vessel had entered Bulgarian territorial waters but did not respond to attempts to contact it. As a result, at around 13:50, it was confirmed that it was the sanctioned Kairos tanker with 10 people on board. In the late afternoon, the crew requested evacuation.

A boat from the Main Department of the Border Police and a naval helicopter were sent to the scene. At 16:35, the vessel dropped anchor about one nautical mile (about 1.8 km) east of Akhtopol and stopped moving. Due to a four-point storm at sea, the salvage operation was halted and the tanker is under constant surveillance.

The Bulgarian ministry said that a specialized group of border police is ready to go to the ship, and two tugs are ready to join the operation as soon as the weather stabilizes.

• on November 29, it became known that the SBU and the Navy two tankers were hit of the occupiers' "shadow fleet" in the Black Sea.
• In the evening of December 1, Turkey reported an attack on the third in recent days, a ship of the Russian "shadow fleet" Mersin flying the Panamanian flag near Dakar (Senegal) on the west coast of Africa.
• on December 2, an attack was reported on another tanker of the Russian "shadow fleet" that was sailing to Georgia with a cargo of sunflower oil.
• In Ukraine deny involvement to the attack on the Russian tanker near Turkey and do not rule out that it could have been staged by Moscow.
• Due to the situation in the Black Sea, Turkey summoned representatives of the Ukraine and Russia.