Turkish sailors claim fishing vessel damaged by mine detonation in Black Sea

A Turkish fishing vessel has suffered blast damage that its crew believe was caused by the detonation of a floating mine in the south-western Black Sea on Wednesday, November 9.

The 27-metre fishing vessel Ahmet Mollaoglu 2 was just off Igneada on Turkey’s northern coast on the evening (local time) of Wednesday when the crew felt the vessel getting struck by an explosion of unknown origin.

The blast left a large hull breach just above the waterline, resulting in flooding in the forward berthing area, which was unoccupied at the time.

The crew then contacted nearby vessels to request their assistance. Two other fishing vessels subsequently arrived on-scene and towed the damaged boat to port.

No serious injuries have been reported among Ahmet Mollaoglu 2‘s 13 crew, who later told Turkish media that they believe the explosion was caused by a mine due to the smell of gunpowder wafting through the interior spaces immediately after their vessel was struck.

An investigation is underway to identify the cause of the blast.