Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has urged citizens to avoid working aboard vessels traveling on high-risk routes in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov after a drone attack on the cargo ship Chelsea 3 off Bulgaria.
The Maltese-flagged vessel was struck at about 1:30 a.m. on October 13, roughly 18 nautical miles east of the Bulgarian town of Byala, the ministry said in an official statement.
All 15 crew members - eight Azerbaijani citizens and seven Ukrainians - were rescued. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said one Azerbaijani crew member, Ramin Rauf oglu Gambarli, born in 1993, was taken to a military hospital in Varna and remained under medical observation. The other seven Azerbaijani sailors received initial examinations and were in satisfactory condition.
Azerbaijani diplomatic missions are coordinating with authorities in the countries involved to provide medical and consular assistance and arrange the crew members’ safe return home.
Bulgarian officials said three drones struck the Chelsea 3’s deck and hull. Five crew members received treatment for minor injuries, while none was seriously injured, according to Reuters.
The incident was part of a wider overnight attack on commercial shipping near Bulgaria. Another vessel, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity, sank after being hit, leaving 11 sailors missing after five were rescued.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry renewed its advice that citizens avoid travel to armed-conflict areas and places with unstable security conditions. It specifically cautioned against taking jobs aboard vessels operating on dangerous Black Sea and Sea of Azov routes.
Source: Vesti Baku