A crew member serving onboard a Greek managed bulker lost his life due to an explosion, on September 3.
According to sources, the incident took place over 700 nautical miles from Uruguay, with the vessel being within the country’s relief jurisdiction.
More specifically, the US Coast Guard received information about an explosion in the engine room of the Panama-flagged bulker Zilos, informing the relevant authorities of Uruguay.
The Zilos was carrying sulphur on a trip to Montevideo where it was expected to arrive on September 10.
Namely, the Uruguay Navy reported that they were unable to contact the bulker and broadcast a request for ships in the area to provide help as needed to the bulker. The Navy also deployed one of its vessels that was on SAR duty to investigate.
After about five hours, the vessels made contact with the captain of the Zilos, confirming the explosion in the engine room, which killed one crew member and left the vessel without power.
The captain also reported that they had been able to resume operation and that the vessel was proceeding to Montevideo.
The Navy vessel ROU 23 Maldonado is currently escorting the bulker to port.
