Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office Charges Ships Captains

Divers, coast guard and teams on the shore failed to find any trace of the missing five sailors, all of whom are Syrians. Photo by BGNES

The Prosecutor's Office in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas has raised charges against the second mate of the Dutch oil tanker "Alessandro DP" and the captain of the Karim 1 cargo ship who collided near cape Emine.

The two ships clashed Monday, at about 5:40 pm local time 20 km southeast of cape Emine. The Karim 1 cargo ship, carrying scrap, and sailing under the Sierra Leone flag sank immediately after the collision. Five of its ten sailors - an Egyptian and four Syrians - were rescued right after the clash.

There are minor damages to the other vessel, a much larger Dutch oil tanker "Alessandro DP." There were initial fears of a large oil spill, but the tanker was empty.

The Regional Prosecutor's Office in the Black Sea city of Burgas is probing three possible causes for the clash - a technical failure on one of the ships, human error, or bad weather, with the most probable being human error.

The search for survivors after the clash between the two ships has been officially called off.

The Prosecutor's Office has ordered that the two captains should be temporary suspended of their documents for traveling abroad until the end of the criminal proceedings.

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