One killed in missile strike on Bangladeshi cargo ship off southern Ukraine

Bangladeshi media reports that one person was killed after the ship to which he was assigned was struck by a missile while in the Black Sea off southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region on Thursday, March 3.

The Bangladeshi-flagged bulk carrier Banglar Samriddhi was in the anchorage just off the Port of Olvia when the attack occurred.

The vessel had become stranded in the waters off Ukraine following the closure of many of the country’s seaports due to the ongoing hostilities with Russia.

The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority said the vessel’s superstructure was hit by a Russian missile but that no one on board suffered any injuries.

However, Bangladeshi publications The Business Standard and The Financial Express stated that the vessel’s third engineer was killed in the same attack.

The same reports said the attack caused a fire to ignite on board but that the remaining crew were able to keep the blaze under control.

On Friday, March 4, Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told local media that the ship has been abandoned and the surviving 28 crewmembers as well as the body of third engineer Hasidur Rahman have been evacuated to a safe location. The crew will then be transported to another country bordering Ukraine.

When asked to comment on the attack, Mr Bin Momen replied there is “no concrete evidence” that the missile that struck Banglar Samriddhi was of Russian origin.