Turkey confirms ’explosion’ near cargo ship near Romania
Turkey’s Maritime Administration confirmed on Friday that an explosion occurred near the Turkish-flagged Kafkametler, a bulk carrier sailing in the Black Sea to the Ukrainian port of Izmail on Thursday. However, there is no evidence that it was caused by a mine.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Reuters.
The Turkish Maritime Administration reported that on Thursday, an explosion "occurred 15-20 metres behind the Kafkametler vessel, which was passing off the coast of Romania". The vessel continued to its destination to deliver its cargo after inspections.
The agency added that there is no evidence that the explosion was caused by a mine.
Kafkametler Maritime, the vessel's operator, told Reuters that it had continued to Izmail, its crew was safe and the vessel did not require maintenance. The captain of the vessel separately noted that although the cause of the explosion near the vessel was unclear, it appeared to have been caused by a bottom mine in the Black Sea.
As a reminder, Reuters, citing its own sources, reported that a Turkish cargo ship had hit a mine off the Romanian coast in the Black Sea and sustained minor damage.
The Ukrainian Navy, however, stated that it could not confirm the information that the Turkish cargo ship Kafkametler had hit a mine off the coast of Romania.
