A Russian Panama-flagged cargo ship carrying 3,000 tons of corn is sinking in the Sea of Azov after suffering a hull breach near the port of Azov in Russia’s Rostov region, according to local media.
The 46-year-old vessel, Pavlo Grabovskiy, departed from Rostov en route to Samsun in Turkey, when it sustained serious hull damage on February 16, causing it to take on water.
Russia’s ageing merchant fleet, which has struggled to find international supplies and managers in the three years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has suffered a number of casualties in recent months.
Splash reported on a series of tanker disasters involving ancient Russian tankers around the Kerch Strait in mid-December while in the same month the Russian Ursa Major general cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean between Spain and Algeria.
👀A dry cargo ship with corn is in trouble in the Sea of Azov. The ship “Pavel Grabovsky” left the port of Rostov and headed to Samsun, Turkey, under the Panamanian flag, but on v. pic.twitter.com/xFrVTPBOuT
