The ferry "Slavyanin," sailing under the Russian flag, received a hull breach in the Black Sea near the Bulgarian Cape Shabla. The vessel was transporting railway tanks with liquefied gas.
According to the Ministry of Energy in Telegram, the Russian ship sustained hull damage after colliding with another vessel, the New Raouf, flying the flag of the Republic of Palau. After the accident, the ship continued its course towards Turkey and is now near the entrance to the Bosporus.
According to Bulgarian media, the ship is owned by Liberian-based New Raouf Shipping Ltd, with Romanian company Daytona Management operating it.
The Russian ship listed and flooded three ballast tanks. It returned to the Bulgarian port of Varna for inspection.
The ferry "Slavyanin" has been operating for about 10 years on the Varna-Caucasus route, transporting railway tanks. It is unclear why the Russian ship was near Shabla/Tyulenovo since the route to the port of Caucasus follows a more easterly direction, while it was moving somewhat north of that.
