site.btaKairos Refloating Stays on Track, Government Allocates BGN 1.2 Mln for Tow

The operation to refloat the tanker Kairos, which ran aground near Ahtopol, is proceeding on schedule and without delays, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said on Friday.

The government approved BGN 1.2 million to finance the operation, and the agreement with the selected contractor is expected to be signed by the end of the day.

The Transport Ministry added that preparations of equipment and the mobilization of specialized teams had begun in parallel and would continue on Saturday. The final stage of moving Kairos to a safe position in Burgas Bay was planned for Sunday, weather permitting.

Three tugboats and a specialized generator would be used to move the vessel, providing power to activate the hydraulic systems and raise the anchor.

The Gambian-flagged oil tanker Kairos, owned by a Chinese company, ran aground off the Black Sea town of Ahtopol on Friday 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 have coordinated rescue operations: Navy Panther helicopters have delivered food, water, communications equipment and a generator to the ship and evacuated most of the crew in stages, while several seafarers have remained on board at the shipowner’s request. Environmental and maritime authorities say the tanker, which is empty of cargo and lies some 700–800 metres from shore, is stable and there is no oil pollution.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov requested clarification from Türkiye’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, Mehmet Uyanik, regarding the reasons for and the manner in which the vessel entered Bulgarian territorial waters. Uyanik said the operation involving the tanker had been carried out by a private Turkish company without prior notification to the Turkish State. He added that Turkish institutions had already launched an investigation and would provide the Bulgarian authorities with full information in due course.