Russian & Sierra Leone-flagged ships in Aegean Sea collision

The Russian ‘Yamal’ landing ship and a Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo vessel continued along their planned routes after a collision in the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea Fleet press service said Wednesday. The incident happened on December 30 in the Karpathos Strait (9-10 miles south of the island of Rhodes), according to the fleet’s representative, Vyacheslav Trukhachev. The Orka-2 dry cargo carrier, under the flag of Sierra Leone, carried out a shipment from Egypt to Turkey. The collision was caused by the Orka-2 ship, which in violation of international rules followed “a parallel course and overtook the Russian ship on the port side,” Sputnik reports, citing the military’s statement. It added that the ship then “suddenly changed course to the right and caused a collision.” No one was hurt, and the ships remained on the move.