A cargo ship has sunk in the Black Sea off the Ukrainian port of Odessa after an explosion, the vessel’s manager has said.
The Estonian-owned cargo ship Helt sunk on Thursday as Russian forces continued their invasion of Ukraine, which has seen increasing military activity in the Black Sea.
Two crew members were in a life raft at sea while four others were unaccounted for, Igor Ilves, managing director of Tallinn-based Vista Shipping Agency said. The company is not aware of the life raft’s whereabouts.
“The vessel has finally sunk,” Mr Ilves said. “Two of the crew are in a raft on the water and four others are missing. I don’？？t know where they are at the moment.” He said the vessel might have struck a mine.
The Maritime Bulletin website reported on Wednesday that Helt had been captured by the Russian navy and was being used as a shield, though this has not been verified.
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The sunken Panama-flagged ship was said to be 16 nautical miles from the port of Odessa.
Map provided by MarineTraffic.com showing the location of the Helt
(MarineTraffic.com)
Ukraine’s military warned on Thursday that a group of Russian amphibious landing vessels was heading toward Odessa.
Earlier, the owner of a Bangladeshi cargo ship said a missile or bomb had hit it in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Olvia, killing one of its crew members.
“The ship came under attack and one engineer was killed,” Pijush Dutta, executive director of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, told Reuters. “It was not clear whether it was a bomb or missile or which side launched the attack. The other 28 crewmen are unharmed,” he said.
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Ukraine crisis 23 January 2022 An Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman, watches through spyglass in a dugout on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Gorlivka, Donetsk region
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Ukraine crisis 23 January 2022 An Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman, caresses a dog in a dugout on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Gorlivka, Donetsk region
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Ukraine crisis 23 January 2022 An Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman, looks on in a dugout on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Gorlivka, Donetsk region
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Mariana, 52, a marketing researcher who for the past two years has been a volunteer in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit, trains on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 A civilian participant in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit waits to fend off a mock attack while training on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 An instructor trains members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Mariana (C), 52, a marketing researcher who for the past two years has been a volunteer in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit, trains on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 A member of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, trains in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine
AP
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
Getty Images
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, volunteer military units of the Armed Forces, train in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine
AP
Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilians, including Tatiana (L), 21, a university veterinary medicine student who is also enrolled in a military reserve program, participate in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit training on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 22 January 2022 Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 21 January 2022 A poster of Russian President Vladimir Putin is used as target practice along a trench on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, in the Lugansk region
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Ukraine crisis 20 January 2022 Russian servicemen standing at attention upon their arrival for the joint drills in Belarus
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Ukraine crisis 20 January 2022 Russian infantry fighting vehicles upon their arrival for the joint drills in Belarus
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Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A Russian armored vehicle drives off a railway platform after arrival in Belarus
AP
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A service member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands next to a BM-21 “Grad” multiple rocket launcher during tactical military exercises at a shooting range in the Kherson region, Ukraine
via REUTERS
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A Russian armored vehicle drives off a railway platform after arrival in Belarus
AP
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A satellite image shows equipment deployed at Klimovo Railyard in Klimovo, Russia
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Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A satellite image shows an closer view of tank artillery and support equipment from the deployed units in Yelnya (130km/80miles east of Russia/Belarus border)
Satellite image ？？2022 Maxar Tech
Ukraine crisis 19 January 2022 A satellite image shows a close view of tanks artillery and tents in the Pogonov training area of Voronez, Russia
Satellite image ？？2022 Maxar Tech
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea
AP
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Yura and Viktor, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Anatoliy, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Anatoliy and other Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade walk past a destroyed building on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ukrainian Military Forces servicemen stand in a trench on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near Verkhnetoretske village, in the Donetsk region
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, near the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola and Viktor, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade, in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ira and Katya, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade, on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Ira, Katya and Alyona, Ukrainian soldiers with the 56th Brigade, on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea
AP
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian troop train transporting military vehicles arriving for drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian servicemen preparing military vehicles to unload from a troop train for the joint drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian troop train transporting military vehicles arriving for drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Russian servicemen holding a traditional Belarus’ bread and salt upon their arrival for the joint drills in Belarus
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE REPUBLIC OF
Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, poses for a portrait in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 18 January 2022 Mykola, a Ukrainian soldier with the 56th Brigade, in a trench on the front line in Pisky, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 17 January 2022 Ukrainian soldiers walk in a trench near the front line in the village of New York, formerly known as Novhorodske, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 17 January 2022 An Ukrainian soldier walks in a trench near the front line in the village of New York, formerly known as Novhorodske, Ukraine
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Ukraine crisis 17 January 2022 An Ukrainian soldier uses a hand-held periscope to view the positions of Russian-backed troops in a trench near the front line in the village of New York, formerly known as Novhorodske, Ukraine
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The Bangladesh-flagged Banglar Samriddhi had been stuck in the port of Olvia since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, and was hit by a missile on Wednesday evening, a Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said.
In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, the Russian Embassy said in an English-language statement on its Facebook page that the circumstances of the incident were “？？being established”？？.
“We express deep condolences to the near and dear ones of the deceased. The Russian side bends every effort to ensure safe departure of the Bangladeshi ship from the port,” it said.
Ukrainian military and coast guard ships stand in the harbour of the city of Odessa in January
(EPA)
Videos on social media showed crew members asking for help after the ship was hit. In one video, the vessel’s second engineer said the ship had been hit by a rocket with one crewmate already dead.
“We have no power supply. Emergency generator power supply is running. We are on the verge of death. We have not been rescued yet. Please save us,” they said. In another video, another crew member called Asiful Islam Asif said: “Please rescue us.”
Earlier, Russian forces seized the strategic Ukrainian seaport of Kherson and besieged another as part of efforts to cut the country off from its coastline.
This map shows the areas held by Russian forces in Ukraine
(Press Association Images)
The Russian military said it had control of Kherson, and local Ukrainian officials confirmed that forces have taken over local government headquarters in the Black Sea port of 280,000, making it the first major city to fall since the invasion began a week ago.
From Kherson, Russian troops appeared to roll toward Mykolaiv, another major Black Sea port and shipbuilding center to the west along the coast.
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The regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, said that big convoys of Russian troops are advancing on the city but said that they will likely need to regroup before trying to take it over.
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Additional reporting by agencies