site.btaSea Water Monitored near Ahtopol During Tanker Kairos Towing

The Black Sea Basin Directorate (BSBD) is monitoring sea water in the Ahtopol area as the Maritime Administration Executive Agency begins towing the stranded tanker Kairos to the port of Burgas, the Ministry of Environment and Water said on its website.

Tests include petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, styrene and fats, aiming to track any changes in water quality during the operation. Experts from BSBD and the Regional Laboratory in Burgas have been on site since Monday morning and will remain until the vessel is safely relocated.

Extra monitoring conducted after the incident showed no contamination from petroleum products or other hazardous substances, with all readings below established safety limits, the ministry said. Enhanced control and observation of Black Sea waters will continue, and the public will be informed promptly of any changes or signs of pollution.

The tanker, anchored near Ahtopol for ten days, is expected to reach a predetermined point in Burgas Bay later on Monday.

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.