[Greek Coast Guard / via Reuters]
Greece has rescued all nine crew members of a cargo ship that hit rocks and sank off the South Aegean island of Andros early on Wednesday, a Coast Guard official said.
The Vanuatu-flagged freighter, with a crew of one Azerbaijani and eight Turkish nationals, had left Albania with 3,000 metric tons of baking soda on board and was bound for Ukraine when it sank off Andros, the Coast Guard official said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the vessel, which was identified as the Corsage C by authorities, to run aground. A preliminary investigation has been launched into the incident, a government official said.
Two anti-pollution Coast Guard vessels and another two carrying anti-pollution equipment have preemptively deployed a floating sea barrier as authorities are concerned about potential fuel leakage, Greek shipping ministry officials said.
Greek Coast Guard footage showed a small boat deploying yellow floating booms at sea near the Andros shoreline to help contain any pollution from the stricken ship.
The vessel’s Turkey-based operator could not immediately be reached for comment.
The rescue operation was launched after the ship issued a mayday call at around 0100 GMT reporting that it had run aground and was taking in water.
Greece deployed three Coast Guard vessels and a helicopter, while a passenger ship was tasked with locating the sinking freighter, the officials said.
Two crew members were rescued from the sea and seven from a rocky area on Andros, the Coast Guard official said, adding that they had all been taken “in good health” to the island’s clinic.
Turkey’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. [Reuters]