site.btaDeputy PM Karadzhov: Swedish Inspectors Visited Detained Ship, No Comprehensive Report Available Yet

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Communications Minister Grozdan Karadzhov Thursday told a hearing in Parliament that Swedish port state control officers had inspected the Vezhen but a comprehensive report and conclusions from the inspection were not available yet.

Karadzhov was citing Navibulgar, the shipowner of the Vezhen, the Maltese-flagged Bulgarian bulk carrier which was detained by Swedish authorities on Sunday on suspicion of sabotage following a breach of an undersea fibre-optic cable.

Karadzhov said that the second mate, the third mate, the chief engineer and the boatswain got off the ship on January 28 and were questioned by police. In addition, the captain and the chief mate were questioned onboard the ship.

On Wednesday evening, all Swedish law-enforcers left the vessel.

The Vezhen is registered under the Maltese flag, although it is owned by a Bulgarian legal person, Karadzhov said. The vessel is not sovereign Bulgarian territory since it is registered and sailing under the Maltese flag. Bulgaria has no jurisdiction to conduct an investigation on any ship sailing under a foreign flag if it has caused damage to another country.

Captain Anton Atanasov and seven officers are Bulgarian citizens, and the boatswain and eight crew members are Myanmar nationals, Karadzhov said. The vessel loaded bulk sulphur and sailed off from a Russian port for Uruguay and Argentina on January 24.

Karadzhov also said the weather deteriorated and the ship encountered a storm during the night. On the morning of January 26, the captain ordered the boatswain to inspect the ship for possible damage. The boatswain radioed that the port anchor was out of position and that the anchor, along with part of the chain, was dragging from the ship's bottom. At 8:30am, the captain ordered the vessel to stop and the anchor started to be retrieved. In the meantime, it was found out that the port anchor stopper was damaged. The anchor was secured successfully and the ship continued its journey, the Transport Minister said.

He said that on Wednesday evening, the European Maritime Safety Agency confirmed the ship's movement and its passage through the area of the fibre-optic cable, as well as its stop in the morning at the time stated in the captain's report. Karadzhov further said that at 8:29pm on January 27, the Swedish port control authorities reported a suspicion that the ship had been involved in a breach to underwater cables by an anchor dragging along the seabed.