A mine exploded near to bulk carrier Georgia S (IMO 9502647) on November 16th, shortly after it left Yuzhniy port, Ukraine, heading to Istanbul. The ship was loaded with grain, but sustained minor to zero damage, and continued its voyage. During the morning of November 18th it was under way about 80nm north of Istanbul, heading for the Bosphorus. Cargill was reported to be the charterer.
Meanwhile, senior Ukrainian government official Yuriy Vaskov, deputy minister for renovation and infrastructure, said on Friday that 151 ships had used Kyiv’s new shipping lane in the Black Sea since it was set up in August. He said that a total of 4.4m tonnes of cargo, including 3.2m tonnes of grain, had been shipped via the corridor so far.
2011-built, Liberia-flagged, 41,101 gt Georgia S is owned and managed by Brother Stars Maritime SA of Monrovia, Liberia. ISM manager is Sea Gate Navigation ltd of Piraeus, Greece. As of November 18th the vessel was underway in the Black Sea to Istanbul. As is not infrequently the case, any call in a Ukrainian Black Sea Port does not appear on the official schedule. The Georgia S left Kandla, India, on October 21st, with Istanbul listed as its next port of call.