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.