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Three out of 13 crew members died, six were rescued after a Palau-flagged freighter sank in bad weather in the Black Sea.
A Palau-flagged freighter sank off the coast of Turkey’s Black Sea province of Bartin, killing at least three crew members, according to Bartin Governor Sinan Guner.
Guner had said earlier on Sunday that the ship, the Arvin, was a Russian dry cargo vessel that sank off the coast of the Inkumu region in bad weather, but corrected this later.
“The vessel Arvin attempted to take refuge in Bartin harbor due to bad weather conditions while transporting goods from Georgia to Bulgaria,” Guner said, quoted by Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Coastguards said the ship sank after taking on water in bad weather.
Six crew members had been rescued and efforts were underway to rescue more, he said in a statement. Anadolu said they were all hospitalized and in good condition.
The Russian state agency responsible for overseeing maritime and river fleets said only two crew members were Russian nationals and the vessel was owned by Ukrainian company Arvin Shipping Ltd.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the incident, saying Ukrainian consuls were providing consular assistance on the spot as operations to locate the four remaining sailors continued.
Guner said earlier that civilian ships were also asked to help with the rescue effort, but operations were hampered by heavy rains and winds. Turkey’s Defense Ministry said it had also sent a ship to help with the rescue operations.
“There are high waves and because of the waves the (rescue) boat cannot see its surroundings. We are trying to reach them with instructions from the shore, ”Guner said.
In January 2019, six crew members died when a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship sank in the Black Sea off Turkey.
Two years earlier, a Russian spy ship sank in the Black Sea after colliding with a cargo ship carrying cattle. The whole crew was saved.
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