No Pollution Detected as Stranded Tanker is Towed to Burgas
Jerusalem, 16 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Burgas (BTA) – The teams of the Executive Agency Maritime Administration, together with the contractor BMF TUG Service, successfully completed the towing of the tanker Kairos with the assistance of three tugboats, the Ministry of Transport said Monday evening.
In the late afternoon, the vessel arrived at its final destination and anchored at the designated location in Burgas Bay. It poses no safety risk and will not obstruct navigation in the area.
Over the next two days, all expenses incurred by the State in connection with the tanker, from its entry into Bulgaria’s territorial waters to date, will be calculated. Immediately thereafter, the total will be presented to the shipowner. Only upon payment will the shipowner be able to arrange the vessel’s departure from Bulgarian territorial waters, the Transport Ministry said.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Environment and Water said on its website that the Black Sea Basin Directorate (BSBD) is monitoring seawater in the Ahtopol area as the Maritime Administration Executive Agency began towing the stranded tanker Kairos to the port of Burgas. Tests included petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, styrene and fats, aiming to track any changes in water quality during the operation. Experts from BSBD and the Regional Laboratory in Burgas remained on site until the vessel was safely relocated.
Extra monitoring conducted after the incident showed no contamination from petroleum products or other hazardous substances, with all readings below established safety limits, the Ministry said. Enhanced control and observation of Black Sea waters will continue, and the public will be informed promptly of any changes or signs of pollution.
The Gambian-flagged oil tanker Kairos, owned by a Chinese company, ran aground off the Black Sea town of Ahtopol on December 5 with a ten-member crew on board, after the Turkish tugboat Timur Bey, which had been towing it, detached from the vessel in Bulgarian territorial waters and returned south.
Since then, the Defense Ministry, the Transport and Communications Ministry and the Maritime Administration Executive Agency have coordinated rescue operations: Navy Panther helicopters have delivered food, water, communications equipment and a generator to the ship and evacuated most of the crew in stages, while several seafarers have remained on board at the shipowner’s request.
Environmental and maritime authorities say the tanker, which is empty of cargo and lies some 700–800 meters from shore, is stable and there is no oil pollution.
