Passage through the Bystre estuary to the Danube River in Odesa Oblast restricted: speedboat blown up

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO – SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2022, 17:53

On Sunday, the "Orlyk" pilot boat near the Bystre estuary of the Danube River hit an explosive device, which blew a large hole through it. The passage of vessels through the Bystre estuary is temporarily closed.

Source: Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority

Quote: "Today, 31 July, near the Bystre estuary of the Danube River, the Orlyk pilot boat belonging to the Delta pilot branch of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority state-owned enterprise had a hole blown through it.

While on a pilot trip off the shipping route, it collided with an explosive device.

According to the boat’s crew, it was not a naval mine but some other explosive device. At the moment, the exact type of projectile is being determined by experts".

Details: The explosion resulted in a hole in the stern under the waterline. The pilot boat has been washed away from the channel of the Bystre estuary from the Black Sea side, where the vessel stopped.

Due to rapid intake of water on board the damaged pilot boat, the crew was evacuated on a small boat of the Coast Guard of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. There are no victims, and the circumstances of the incident are being confirmed.

The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority has reported that the passage for vessels through the Bystre estuary is temporarily restricted.

Background: On 29 July, near the Bystre estuary of the Danube River in Odesa Oblast, a small survey vessel blew up due to an unidentified explosive device. There were no victims.

On 9 July, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority reported that the liberation of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island by the Ukrainian forces made it possible to use the channel  of the Bystre estuary of the Danube-Black Sea waterway for the entry/exit of ships transporting agricultural produce.

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