Estonian freighter shelled by the Russian army has sunk near Odesa

THURSDAY, 3 MARCH 2022, 4:25 PM

The freighter Helt, belonging to an Estonian company and sailing under the flag of Panama, has sunk near the port of Odesa due to an explosion.

Source: "European Pravda," reports err.ee.

The Helt belongs to the Estonian company Vista Shipping Agency AS.

"The ship is sunk. We have two crew members on the lifeboat. The other four crew members are missing. I don't know where they are now," said Igor Ilves, CEO of Vista Shipping Agency.

"There was no communication with the ship. The representatives of the ship’s owners told us that the crew reported the shelling of the ship by Russian forces. As a result, it was damaged," Andriy Demchenko, press secretary of the State Security Service of Ukraine, told Ukrainska Pravda.

According to Andriy Klimenko, a project manager at the Institute for Black Sea Strategic Studies, the ship probably sank at noon local time on March 3.

Heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian military forces is going on near Odesa.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian government authorities said that the Helt had been seized by Russian sailors. The Russian navy then used the ship as a shield.

On Thursday, Ukrainian sources reported that the ship was sinking. Some crew members escaped on lifeboats.

Odesa is Ukraine's major port city.

Earlier, a Moldovan vessel was also hit by a Russian ship.