One of the likely causes for the sinking of the fishing vessel with a crew of three near Maslen Nos is engine failure and water ingress through the engine room hatch. This hypothesis was expressed today by the Board for Investigation of Accidents to the Ministry of Transport.
A second inspection of the ship was carried out with better visibility, during which divers were able to enter the engine room. In the morning of the day of the incident, the wind was from the worst direction - northeast up to 30 meters per second. The waves, awakened by it, reached up to 5 meters and shortly after 7:00 a.m., the ship signaled that it had finished fishing.
Hristo Hristov, Chairman of the National Board for Investigation of Accidents: “The fishing equipment was collected on the ship. They were not in the stage of searching for the nets, etc., which means that it had finished. He reported this to the Agency that he was finishing fishing and returning to his home port.”
On the way home, however, something happened and slowed down the ship - from five knots to one. This could mean for the investigators that the engine had failed and the ship was being controlled only by the waves and the wind.
Hristo Hristov: “And it is seen that the ship was adrift for about 10 minutes. After those 10 minutes, the ship suddenly disappears from the radar systems of the means that were observing it. This happens very quickly - one or two minutes and the ship sinks.”
The ship sank stern first and lay on its right side with its bow slightly raised, the divers established. So most likely, water began to rush into its rear part.
Hristo Hristov: “During this rapid sinking, there was no signal from them to declare a disaster, to ask for help, so that they could be helped by the structures of the “Border Police” and the “Maritime Administration”.”
The three crew members failed to reach the rescue station. Here it is tied with ropes to the side. A common practice, which, however, does not allow its automatic deployment when the ship sinks.
And another thing - from its disappearance to the first signal to the Fisheries Agency and the beginning of the rescue operation, a full three hours passed.
Hristo Hristov: “During those three hours, no one reacted. No one said where this ship is, why isn't it there? Where is it, because it should be seen there.”
The investigation still has a lot of work to do and it will obviously go beyond the specific causes of the sinking of the fishing vessel, in which three people died.