Two Cargo Ships Hit by Blasts Around Ukraine, One Killed

An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Maksim Levin
An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Maksim Levin
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Two Cargo Ships Hit by Blasts Around Ukraine, One Killed

An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Maksim Levin
An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by shelling in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region, Ukraine March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Maksim Levin

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.

Many shipping firms have suspended journeys to Black Sea ports and other terminals in Ukraine amid soaring recent insurance premiums for such voyages. At least three commercial ships have been hit separately by projectiles since Feb. 24 when Russia's invasion began.

Viktor Vyshnov, deputy head of Ukraine’s Maritime Administration, said six crew members from the Marshall Islands-flagged Helt were picked up by Ukraine's rescue service and taken to a hospital in nearby Chernomorsk after floating in cold water for many hours, but he had no further details.

The rescue was confirmed by Igor Ilves, managing director of the Helt's Tallinn-based manager Vista Shipping Agency. Ilves had told Reuters earlier that two of the crew were in a life raft at sea, with four others unaccounted for at the time. He said the crew comprised four Ukrainian nationals, a Russian and a Belarusian.

"The vessel has finally sunk," Ilves said, adding it might have struck a mine.

There were no claims of responsibility for either event.

NATO's Shipping Center warned on Wednesday that there was "a high risk of collateral damage on civilian shipping in the northwestern part of the Black Sea", which included mines.

"There are several open source reports of civilian ships being hit directly or indirectly as a result of the acts of war in the northwestern Black Sea within Ukrainian territorial waters and adjacent international waters," NATO said.

"Civilian shipping is encouraged to exercise caution and be on high alert in the area."

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.

"The ship came under attack and one engineer was killed," Pijush Dutta, executive director of Bangladesh Shipping Corp, told Reuters. "It was not clear whether it was a bomb or missile or which side launched the attack. The other 28 crew are unharmed," he said, without providing further details.

The Bangladesh-flagged Banglar Samriddhi had been stuck in Olvia since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, and was hit by a missile, a Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said.

Olvia is located in the Dnipro-Bug river estuary on the Black Sea coast, 15 km (nine miles) south of Mykolaiv and about 110 km (70 miles) east of Odessa.



Chinese Navy Helicopter Flies within 10 Feet of Philippine Patrol Plane Over Disputed Shoal 

A Chinese military helicopter flies close to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic (BFAR) aircraft above Scarborough shoal on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
A Chinese military helicopter flies close to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic (BFAR) aircraft above Scarborough shoal on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
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Chinese Navy Helicopter Flies within 10 Feet of Philippine Patrol Plane Over Disputed Shoal 

A Chinese military helicopter flies close to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic (BFAR) aircraft above Scarborough shoal on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
A Chinese military helicopter flies close to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic (BFAR) aircraft above Scarborough shoal on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)

A Chinese navy helicopter flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a Philippine patrol plane on Tuesday in a disputed area of the South China Sea, as the Filipino pilot warned by radio: “You are flying too close, you are very dangerous.”

The helicopter was attempting to force a Cessna Caravan turbo-prop plane belonging to the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources out of what China claims is its airspace over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines.

An Associated Press journalist and other invited foreign media representatives on the plane witnessed the tense 30-minute standoff as the Philippine plane pressed on with its low-altitude patrol around Scarborough with the Chinese navy helicopter hovering close above it or flying to its left in cloudy weather.

“You are flying too close, you are very dangerous and endangering the lives of our crew and passengers,” the Philippine pilot told the Chinese navy helicopter by radio at one point. “Keep away and distance your aircraft from us, you are violating the safety standard set by FAA and ICAO.”

The pilot was referring to the standard distance between aircraft required by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization to prevent air disasters.

The Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries said in a statement that they remain “committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, despite the aggressive and escalatory actions of China.”

They referred to the Philippine name for the stretch of waters in the South China Sea closer to the Philippines’ western coast.

Chinese officials did not immediately comment on the incident, but in past encounters they have steadfastly asserted China's sovereign rights over the Scarborough and surrounding waters and warned that its forces would protect the country's territorial interests at all costs.

Tuesday's encounter, which is expected to be protested by the Philippine government, is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long territorial standoff in one of the world’s busiest trade routes, which involves China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Confrontations on the high seas have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guards in the last two years at Scarborough, a traditional fishing area, and the Second Thomas Shoal, where a grounded Philippine navy ship has served as a territorial outpost since 1999 but has since been closely watched by Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships.

China deployed its coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships around Scarborough after a tense standoff with Philippine ships in 2012.

The following year, the Philippines brought its disputes with China to international arbitration. A 2016 decision by a United Nations-backed arbitration panel invalidated China’s expansive claim in the South China Sea based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China, a signatory to the UNCLOS like the Philippines, refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected its outcome and continues to defy it.