UPDATE: Estonian-owned cargo ship sinks off Odesa after Russian action

[Wicked Blue]

Last edited Thu Mar 3, 2022, 03:01 PM - Edit history (2)

Two cargo ships hit by blasts around Ukraine, one seafarer killed

LONDON/DHAKA, March 3 (Reuters) - An Estonian-owned cargo ship sank on Thursday off Ukraine's major Black Sea port of Odessa, hours after a Bangladeshi vessel was hit by a missile or bomb at a port east of Odessa, underlining the growing peril to merchant shipping after Russia's invasion of Ukraine

...Late on Wednesday, a missile or bomb struck a Bangladeshi-owned cargo ship in the Black Sea port of Olvia, killing one of its crew members. Efforts were underway to rescue the others from the vessel, its owner said on Thursday.

https://www.reuters.com/world/bangladesh-cargo-ship-hit-by-missile-crew-member-killed-bangladesh-official-2022-03-03/

The Helt's crew consisted of one Russian, one Belarusian and four Ukrainians, according to ERR

Earlier:
ERR - Estonian Public Broadcasting

An Estonian-owned cargo ship has been reported sinking in the Black Sea, off the coast of the port city Odesa, the result of an explosion thought to have been caused by striking a sea mine. The ship is one of many reported to have been used by Russian naval forces as a type of human shield, ahead of an amphibious landing planned for Odesa.

As of Thursday afternoon, the vessel, a cargo ship named the Helt was sinking, with a heavy list, maritime news site Maritime Bulletin reports, citing Ukrainian sources.

U.K. paper the Daily Mail reported on its website that four crew members were still missing, while two have abandoned ship by using a lifeboat, and that the ship struck a mine after having been hijacked by Russian forces. Reuters also reports mine-strike as the likely cause of the initial explosion.

All six crew members have since been safely accounted for, the Estonian foreign ministry says. None of the six were Estonian citizens, the ministry added.

https://news.err.ee/1608519392/estonian-owned-cargo-ship-sinking-off-odesa-after-russian-action

The Helt had reportedly been captured by the Russian Navy and used by them as a shield from direct fire, the Daily Mail reports

BTW It was flying a Marshall Islands flag

[PA_jen]

1. Estonia is in NATO. Will this be considered an act of War?

[lagomorph777]

3. Sure as hell should be.

Time to roll.

[Wicked Blue]

5. That didn't occur to me

[PA_jen]

7. Now was this done to insite the world War or is this a lucky break to get Ukraine the help the need?

[GP6971]

2. Here's another link.

https://gcaptain.com/russia-used-civilian-ship-as-a-human-shield/

[CentralMass]

4. It is heating up.

[EndlessWire]

9. I don't think so.

We have already had ships from Turkey and Romania shot at and damaged. If they wanted to go to war against Russia, they already have ample cause available for history to record. But, in avoidance of a nuclear war, they are exercising extreme caution and letting Russia get away with it.

I believe that they will announce that they have annexed the Azov Sea. They will control the Ukraine shore there, have taken the Snake Island, and have taken parts of Georgia on the other side. They took Crimea, and the Kerch Strait.

Let's see what happens in the Baltic Sea. Putin is emboldened by the fact that NATO is constrained by 1) their rules, and 2) nuclear threats.

Biden is adamant that "not one inch" of NATO land will be taken uncontested. Can we avoid WW3 by allowing Russia to take nonmembers? What kind of world do we live in?

[FSogol]

6. And wouldn't using a manned civilian vessel as a shield be a war crime?

[Wicked Blue]

8. Any experts out there?

[EndlessWire]

10. There are no experts. n/t

[crickets]

11. Somebody has put out mines. That's not good news.

This incident came hours after NATO warned that Russians have already attacked merchant ships both flagged and owned by NATO nations. NATO also warned that military units mined sea routes used by civilian ships in the Northern Black Sea. It is unclear if the mines are Russian or if Ukraine mined the approaches to Odesa to prevent Russian warships from entering.

https://gcaptain.com/russia-may-have-mined-ukrainian-waters-says-nato/

[Wicked Blue]

12. Mines are ugly weapons nt

[crickets]

14. Yes they are. nt

[Bettie]

13. Capturing a ship is an act of war, isn't it?

Maybe someone who knows more than I do can answer that.

[Throck]

15. Any idea if ship was in international waters?

I'm thinking state sanctioned piracy.