Turkish coastguards evacuated 16 seafarers from a Panama-flagged multi-cargo ship that caught fire in the Black Sea.
The incident took place late on Tuesday, 4.5 nautical miles north of Boztepe Cape near the city of Sinop.
Two coastguard boats, one helicopter as well as local fishermen rushed to the scene after receiving radio signals that a blaze was raging on the 9,200-dwt Beata (built 2001).
According to the coastguards, 16 of the 17 crew — mostly Egyptian nationals — were taken off board and brought to Sinop where they were hospitalised, some of them with injuries.
The master of the ship, however, remains missing and may have drowned.
“It is said that he jumped into the sea,” local shipping website Deniz Haber said, citing a fisherman who took part in the rescue.
Coastguards said in a statement that search-and-rescue operations for the master continued.
Fraught history
By early Friday morning, the Beata had drifted for about 15 miles off Gerze, Turkey and there were no more outside signs of fire on the ship.
Authorities sent a tugboat equipped with extinguishing equipment for cooling purposes. Further rescue efforts will be coordinated during the course of the day.
Turkish authorities gave no information on the causes of the fire.
According to the fisherman cited by Deniz Haber, the fire probably broke out near the stern of the ship. State-run Anadolu press agency said that it was caused by an explosion.
Citing local authorities, Anadolu reported that the evacuated crew consisted of 13 Egyptian nationals, as well as one Armenian, one Ukrainian and one Albanian.
Shipping reference sources are listing the Beata as under management of Intercoastal Shipping, a two-ship entity based in Malta.
According to Equasis, Greek authorities detained the Beata in December 2021 for 174 days over 18 different deficiencies.
Inspectors noted, among other things, that the propulsion of the main engine was “not as required”, that personal fire-fighting equipment was missing and that fire emergency procedures were below standard.
