Three Members of Stranded Foreign Tanker’s Crew Evacuated off Coast of Ahtopol 2025

Balgarianovinite.com Three members of the crew of the tanker stranded by Ahtopol have been evacuated, the Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov, told a news conference here on Sunday. More of the ten-member crew are about to be evacuated, he added.
The Defence Ministry said in a press release shortly after that a crew from the Navy with a Panther helicopter provided assistance to the sailors on Kairos. At 1:50 p.m. on Sunday, the helicopter took off from the Chaika base. Despite the bad weather conditions, at around 2:20 p.m., the military personnel delivered water, food, and communication equipment to the tanker. The crew took off again at 4:06 p.m. to deliver a fuel generator to the tanker and evacuate three sailors who had reported that they were not in good health. 
The Transport Ministry said in a press release that after landing in Varna, medical assistance was provided to the three sailors to assess their health condition. At the request of the shipowner, a new operation will be organized Monday morning to evacuate four more sailors, while three people will remain on board.
A meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkiye to Bulgaria is scheduled for Monday to clarify all the circumstances surrounding the abandonment of the tanker in Bulgarian territorial waters, the Transport Ministry said.
On Friday, a tanker flying a foreign flag ran aground off the coast of Ahtopol, on the Black Sea. Evacuation efforts for the ten-member crew were delayed because of the bad weather on Saturday. According to information provided by Rumen Nikolov, head of the Emergency Rescue Operations Directorate at the Maritime Administration Executive Agency, the stranded tanker is owned by a Chinese company. Currently, she is empty of cargo and is located about 700-800 metres off the coast of Ahtopol. The ship is stable and there is no danger to either the crew or the environment, he added. 
He also said that diplomatic channels must be used to establish why the tanker was brought into Bulgaria’s territorial waters. He pointed out that an answer to this question could be obtained after contact with the Turkish authorities. The information that was previously announced that the Bulgarian authorities were not aware of the situation is untrue, the expert added. According to him, the tanker was being monitored along with the Turkish ship Timur Bey that was towing it. The Bulgarian authorities also saw the two ships separate in Bulgarian territorial waters; the Turkish ship then returned south while the tanker, carried by the waves and wind, headed towards the Bulgarian coast. In response to questions, Nikolov said that the sailors on board were unable to say why the Turkish tugboat had stopped towing the ship. “Such information could be available to the captain or one of the officers, but they are not there. The details will be clarified once the weather allows representatives of the Bulgarian authorities to board the ship,” Nikolov stressed. 
The Environment and Water Ministry confirmed on Sunday that the regular monitoring of water quality in the Black Sea has not detected any pollution. Also, the Black Sea Basin Directorate (BSBD) – Varna has deployed measuring devices and taken samples between Sozopol and Rezovo to provide data on the condition of the seawater. If deviations are found or if pollution is detected, follow-up actions will be taken, about which the public will be informed in a timely manner, the Ministry said. Three Members of Stranded Foreign Tanker’s Crew Evacuated off Coast of Ahtopol 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-07 18:31:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law