site.btaEnvironment Ministry: No Pollution of Sea Waters After Stranded Tanker Towed to Burgas Bay

The Environment and Water Ministry Tuesday stated that there is no pollution of the sea waters after the tanker Kairos was successfully towed to Burgas Bay on December 15.

The tests were carried out on December 15 in the seawaters near Ahtopol by the Regional Laboratory of the Environmental Agency in Varna for indicators of petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, styrene and fats. The results, which were received by the Black Sea Region Basin Directorate, show no pollution or changes in the state of the waters.

The Gambian-flagged oil tanker Kairos, owned by a Chinese company, ran aground off the Black Sea town of Ahtopol on December 5 with a ten-member crew on board, after the Turkish tugboat Timur Bey, which had been towing it, detached from the vessel in Bulgarian territorial waters and returned south. Since then, the Defence Ministry, the Transport and Communications Ministry and the Maritime Administration Executive Agency coordinated rescue operations: Navy Panther helicopters delivered food, water, communications equipment and a generator to the ship and evacuated most of the crew in stages, while several seafarers remained on board at the shipowner’s request.