Final Reports

On 17.2.2023 the motor vessel “LOYGA” made a passage/maneuver for berthing at the quay in the port of Varna-West. At 12:10 the vessel heaved up the anchor at anchorage No 1 for passage to berth No 13. At 12:40 a pilot boarded the ship. The vessel was heading towards the port of Canal No 1. At 12:57 she left the fairway, made a sharp turn to the starboard and grounded 50 meters NE of buoy No 117, near the base of the Asparukhov bridge. 

On 14.12.2021 in the ballast tank No. 3 port side of m/v "BELLONA", during repair works at ship repair yard “MTG Delfin” JSC a fire broke out. The fire was extinguished, but the worker of the company "Galera 07" LTD, who was in the tank, died.

At 04:13:43 on 20.09.2021, the motor vessel “Vera Su”, navigating from the port of Yuzhniy, Ukraine to Varna, loaded with 2 837,201 mt Urea, missed a way point for joining in the Traffic Separation Scheme due to the falling asleep of the second officer and ran aground on the Bulgarian coast in the area of Yailata Protected Area.

At 22:08 on 14.12.2020, the chief engineer of the m/v Mare fell overboard from the stern of the ship, while trying to retrieve his mobile phone, which turned out to be on the deck behind the railings. 

The ship left the Port of TPP Varna and came out of Varna Lake. The fall of the chief engineer was noticed by the ship's cook, who immediately informed the master, who was on the bridge, and the two ran to the stern. As the master threw a lifebuoy into the water and tried to locate the chief engineer, the cook suddenly jumped over the railing into the water.

A search and rescue operation was carried out, during which the chief engineer was found and rescued. The search for the cook continued, including divers and patrols along the coast, but without results. The cook's body was found ashore about a month later, and the established cause of the death was drowning.

The safety investigation of the accident was carried out by a Commission of the National Board for Aircraft, Maritime and Railway Accident Investigation, after reaching an agreement with the investigating authorities of the Flag State of the ship - Republic of Vanuatu.

The Commission considers that the main cause of the very serious accident was a human error in the actions of both the chief engineer and the cook.

On 8 December 2014 at 1933, a 43-year-old crewmember of m/v Anna M was found in a helpless condition with severe head trauma at the bottom of the empty cargo hold № 1, near the vertical ladder to enter the hold. The ship was at anchor in Varna roadstead in expectation of permission to enter the port. A medical evacuation was carried out to the suffered ashore, where a doctor ascertained his death. There were no immediate eyewitnesses to the accident, but the nature of the injuries and the location of the body suggested a dropping from the vertical ladder and fall from a great height to the bottom of the cargo hold.

At about 13:30 on 9 March 2018, a fire broke out on the first bridge deck of m/v "Geroite na Sevastopol". The ship was en route from Chernomorsk, Ukraine to Poti, Georgia. The place of fire was localized in the messmen’ cabin. The fire spread rapidly in the adjacent cabins and in the corridor. At 1332 the ship’s “General alarm”  sounded and the crew gathered at the "Muster station" to fight the fire.

A check for availability of the crewmembers revealed the absence of the ship's cook and one of the messmen. A reconnaissance group equipped with ASE was sent to bring the cook from his cabin to a safe place. They did not manage to enter the messmen’ cabin, due to the high temperature and the heavy smoke. At 1405 the fire was under control and the missing messman was found dead in his cabin. At 1410 the fire was finally extinguished.

At about 1030 on 3 April 2017, as a result of welding works on the s/b side of m/t "VF Tanker 7", moored in the port "Terem- KRZ Flotski Arsenal - Varna ", a fire occured in the space between the ship and the adjacent pier.

Vapors from spillage of oil products on the water surface ignited. The fire spreaded quickly from the nose to the stern. Approx. 1 minute after the start of the fire, an explosion occurred in the s/b side ballast tank № 7. The fire was extinguished with the help of the crew and the shore fire brigade.

There were no injuries to crew members and shipyard workers. As a result of the explosion, the hull of the ship in the area of s/b ballast tank № 7 was heavily deformed. A subsequent underwater inspection found 3 holes under the waterline. A floating boom was deployed around the ship.

The tanker has arrived in the port on 2 April 2017, under a ballast, empty and gas-free cargo tanks.

On 05.11.2016, at 1400, a port worker was found in a severe condition at cargo hold № 2 bottom of m/v “Santana”. Immediately before the accident, the worker was seen going down the ladder in the hold to resume work after a lunch break. There was no direct eyewitness to the accident. The injuries on the body indicated about a falling from a big height onto the metal floor of the hold. As a result of the received injuries, the suffered worker died on the way to the hospital. The worker was a part of a brigade, employees of "NMB Port Burgas" SJC - "Burgas West" Terminal, unloading billets/metal profiles/ from the ship.

On 08.11.2015, the m/v "Indra II" left Odessa, Ukraine, with a course to the port of  Burgas, Bulgaria. The next day, 09.11.2015, the ship approached the area of Burgas port and started maneuvering for mooring to the quay. The main engine of the vessel stopped due to the activation of low oil pressure protection. The ship remained temporarily on a drift. The chief engineer informed the captain that the engine room staff would try to fix the problem in a short time. The routine actions for such cases were undertaken - cleaning the luboil system filters. The oil pump had been stopped before each filter opening. When attempting to dismantle the filter element from the left section of the main luboil filter, the cover of the section remained attached to the body of the filter box, although the retaining nuts were unscrewed. By his own initiative, the 3rd engineer climbed onto the filter housing and attempted to release it by a hammer. The suddenly released cover was ejected vertically, hitting the 3rd engineer in the area of the chest. The 3rd engineer had been given first aid by the crew. Despite all the measures taken, the injured person subsequently died as a result of injuries.

At 1430 on 07.02.2014  m/v „Elland” left the port of Constanţa, Romania. By 1600 on  the same day, entering the territorial sea of Bulgaria, the ship unexpectedly received a 10º list to the portside. The big list interrupted the cooling and lubrication of the diesel generator and it stopped working. The main engine stopped too. The ship remained without steerability, drifting, with a list to the portside. The subsequent attempts to restore survivability were unsuccessful. At 2100  the captain ordered the crew to be ready for abandoning the ship. Two turkish ships, as well as a bulgarian border police cutter, approached m/v"Elland". The crew was transferred to m/v "M. Izmir", after which all were transported to the port of Varna.

On 08.02.2014 attempts were made to rescue the ship by the tug "Eliza". Salvation was not possible due to the steadily increasing list of the ship. The heel of m/v "Elland" reached 45° to the starboard side and at 1635 on 08.02.2014 the ship capsized and sinked at a depth of 50 m.

On 07.03.2013, about 9 miles SSW of Cape Kaliakra the general cargo ship m/v "Lady Gul", flying the flag of Panama, collided with the general cargo ship m/v "St. Catrien", flying the flag of Union of Comoros. This area falls within the territorial sea of the Republic of Bulgaria. After examining the facts reported by MRCC-Varna, the Maritime Accident Investigation Unit classified the accident as a "serious casualty" in accordance with the circular letter MSC-MEPC.3/Circ.3 of 18.12.2008, a collision led to serious structural damage -  hull bending of the  m/v "St. Catrien".

On January 3, 2008, at about 0215, m/v "Vanessa" sunk into the Azov Sea during a passage from the port of Berdyansk to port of Burgas under heavy hydrometeorological conditions. As a result, there were human sacrifices, loss of the ship and the cargo. No environmental damages had been reported.

On 14.08.2018, at about 1730 m/v„Karadeniz 5“ sailed from Constanta, Romania. By 2110, the ship's captain and watchkeeping engineer from 20-00 hrs. shift(chief engineer) were in the messroom, and after a while they separated. Around 2130 a power problem(blackout) occured on the ship and the main engine stopped. Crew members heard a muffled blast and saw smoke and flames coming out of the engine room. The fixed CO2 fire extinguishing system was triggered by the command of the captain. After the fire weakened and extincted a check of the crew availability showed the lack of the chief engineer. He was found at the bottom of the engine room in a helpless condition and a little later he died.

On 29.11.2010 at 17:35 h the on-duty ship traffic operator – Burgas heard on VHF 16th channel a phrase „Alessandro DP red to red”. The attempt to perform a connection on the same channel with m/t Alessandro DP was unsuccessful. At 17:40 h through Varna Radio in the MRCC Varna was received distress signal emitted from m/t Alessandro DP. The accident occurred at approximately 10 nautical miles south-east from Cape Emine in possible coordinates 42° 34` N and 028° 03`Е. M/T Alessandro DP reported for collision with another ship, that sunk and for significant damages on itself.