ALBAWABA - Romanian rescue personnel searched the Black Sea on Saturday for three Syrian sailors who went missing after their cargo ship sank off the shore, according to the naval authorities.
On Saturday morning, the ship Mohammed Z sunk with 11 crew members aboard, 26 nautical miles off the Romanian town of Sfantu Gheorghe in the Black Sea's Danube delta, according to officials.
According to reports, the ship, which was operating under the Tanzanian flag, was transporting nine Syrians and two Egyptians. After getting a warning around 4:00 am, naval authorities, border police, and two adjacent commercial vessels were called to assist with the search and rescue effort.
Eight sailors were rescued by one of the adjacent commercial vessels, while the hunt for the remaining three, "all of Syrian nationality," was ongoing, according to the statement.
The reason of the accident remains unknown. According to the expert website Marine Traffic, the ship left the Turkish city of Mersin and was on its way to the Romanian port of Sulina.
Ensuring safe passage via the Black Sea has become particularly important since Romania's Danube ports became grain transit centers following Russia's blockade of Ukraine's ports.
Since Russia launched its war on Ukraine, drifting sea mines have posed an ongoing hazard to ships in the Black Sea, prompting bordering countries to step up demining efforts.
