Russia denied media speculation that a general cargo ship’s hull was breached by a mine in the Black Sea.
Namely, authorities claimed that “strong waves” created a small hole in the side of the Russian-owned Omskiy-205. More specifically, Russia’s Coast Guard of the Border Directorate of the Federal Security Service said that the vessel had 12 seafarers on board and got into distress southwest of the Kerch Strait on 27 March.
In fact, the captain had reported the ship was sinking and needed help, with the Coast Guard launching a rescue operation with a border patrol ship that arrived at the scene in less than an hour.
When arrived, the rescue vessel approached and started pumping seawater from the engine room.
No pollution was reported, with Russian news agency Tass issuing a report saying that there were no injuries and that the hole was not caused by military action.
