site.btaOperation to Secure and Tow Tanker Kairos Begins

The implementation of the approved operational plan for securing and subsequently towing the tanker Kairos has commenced, the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications reported on Saturday. The plan was jointly prepared by the Maritime Administration and the operation contractor, BMF TUG Service.

An emergency 150 kW marine generator, intended to restore the tanker’s anchoring system, was delivered to the port of Burgas on Saturday morning. The generator will be loaded onto a workboat along with the necessary power equipment and mooring ropes.

On Sunday, the workboat will transport the generator to the tanker Kairos. A technical team will board the vessel to connect the power supply, test the anchoring system, and restore operation of the port anchor to ensure safe conditions for the next stage of the operation.

On Monday, December 15, three tugboats are scheduled to move to the tanker’s location to begin raising the anchor and towing the vessel, in accordance with the approved plan. The operation is expected to conclude on the same day, with the tanker safely moored in a designated area of Burgas Bay.

Throughout the entire operation, the Maritime Administration will maintain continuous control and coordination, taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of navigation and the protection of the marine environment, the press release said.

The Gambian-flagged oil tanker Kairos, owned by a Chinese company, was stranded off the Bulgarian 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. Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev and Transport and Communications Minister Grozdan Karadjov requested clarification from Turkish Ambassador 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 government. He added that Turkish institutions had launched an investigation and would provide the Bulgarian authorities with full information in due course.