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Nevertheless: A stay in Russian and Ukrainian waters is currently not very popular with shipping companies for three reasons. The military component is the most dangerous: missiles might endanger the crew, ship and property. In addition, according to the VDR spokesman, the waters are “probably mined”. He reports on crews of German fleets that the Ukrainian military showed on maps where the mines were.
The case of the “Helt” shows how real this danger is. The Estonian cargo ship sank following an explosion off Odessa, the Archyde.com news agency reports. A representative of the operator Vista Shipping Agency says the ship may have struck a mine. Two crew members made it onto a life raft, four were missing.
