Divers found no holes below the waterline of the tanker Kairos, which was hit by a drone and is anchored in Burgas Bay. Stoyan Dimitrov, head of the "Friends of the Sea – Burgas" association, who took part in the inspection, says no fuel or lubricants are leaking from the ship.
"There is a small crack in the hull about a metre and a half above the waterline," Dimitrov added. A detailed report with the full results of the inspection is due.
No one had checked the hull below the waterline until now, and nothing was known about its condition. The association's divers used their own equipment. The Burgas regional administration and the Burgas Maritime Administration helped.
Two teams of divers took part. One checked the anchor, which lies at a depth of about 35–40 metres, and the anchor chain, about 150–200 metres long, which lies on the seabed. The divers wanted to see whether the anchor system was damaged, as the ship has stayed in one place for a long time.
The second team went around the whole hull, mostly the stern, where the drone hit the tanker, looking for damaged areas. It also checked other parts below the waterline. All the underwater work was filmed.
Veselin Anestiev, deputy regional governor of Burgas, was there from start to finish, along with officials from the Maritime Administration. Anestiev says such checks will go on until a lasting solution is found for the ship.
Soon after the attack, rescue crews towed the tanker north. It remains under watch until a decision is made on what to do with it.
Regional governor Diko Dikov and Anestiev thanked the association and the crew of Maritime Administration rescue boat No. 2.