site.btaUPDATED Transport Minister on Hijacked Ship, Railway Services, Medical Helicopters

Interviewed by bTV on Monday, Bulgarian Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov said the sailors on the hijacked Malta-flagged, Bulgarian-owned ship Ruen are fine. There are two ships patrolling it but they are not launching an attack because the situation is complicated. He assumed they were waiting for the ship to be moored somewhere.

Presumably, the hijackers are Somali pirates because the ship is bound for Somalia, the minister said.

The Indian navy said on December 15 it was tracking the Ruen. Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel said in a televised interview on December 17 that Sofia was in contact with all the institutions and international partners who can help in this very difficult situation.

Commenting on the progress on Bulgaria's Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, Gvozdeikov said the system will be completed in 2026. The first helicopter is due to arrive from Italy in mid-January. Then it should receive Bulgarian registration and airworthiness certificate and the operator should be licensed. Six pilots have been trained and Italy is ready to train more, but training requires further investment which has not been planned yet. Three or four helipads have been certified so far.

Regarding the Bulgarian State Railways, Gvozdeikov said his Ministry was trying to work on infrastructure projects and rolling stock modernization simultaneously. By 2026, longer-distance services linking Sofia with Burgas, Svilengrad and Varna will be operated at 160 km/h. Rail transport can be optimized if fares are increased, which has not been done since 2017, he said.