Ukrainian TV is reporting a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier has sustained damage after hitting a sea mine.
The incident took place on Wednesday while the unnamed ship was underway in the Danube River canal near Vylkove, Ukraine.
One seafarer was said to have been injured in the accident.
Footage by Ukrainian broadcaster TCH showed deformation to the port side, but there was no penetration of the hull.
The video also showed the alarm sounding on the vessel and the wake of the explosion in the water.
Security company Ambrey has assessed that the incident likely occurred on the vessel’s approach into the canal.
Following the blast, the bulker is reported to have sailed under its own power and transited along the unilateral Ukrainian grain corridor to Odesa.
The AIS signal halted on 15 October just outside Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone but was resumed on 19 October, 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of Zatoka, Ambrey said.
On Sunday, a Turkish-controlled tanker reportedly hit a sea mine and suffered an explosion in Ukrainian waters.
The incident involved the 6,600-dwt Ali Najafov (built 2001) that occurred before the vessel entered the Bystroe Canal in the Black Sea.
No hull breach
The tanker was heading to one of the Danube’s Ukrainian ports for unloading, a Ukrainian report said.
There was no hull breach, and the crew was safe.
“The Ali Najafov was reportedly damaged at the vessel’s starboard side and ballast tanks,” Ambrey said.
The site was 0.2 nautical miles (0.4 km) from a near-miss involving the 3,100-dwt general cargo ship Kafkametler (built 1992) earlier in October.
Turkish authorities poured cold water on media and maritime security agency reports that the vessel had hit a mine in the Black Sea.
The country’s general directorate for shipping confirmed that an explosion rocked the vessel.
The blast, however, did not take place on the ship but happened behind it at a distance between 15 and 20 metres, the directorate said.
