A Maltese-flagged cargo ship with 14 crewmembers on board caught fire off Crimea in the Sea of Azov, the Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry reported on Sunday.
The Ivan Vikulov dry cargo ship was sailing from Turkey to Rostov-on-Don in south Russia when it caught fire early on Sunday some 60 kilometers (37 miles) off Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
“The dry cargo ship is in distress. There are 14 people aboard the ship. A rescue operation is currently underway. According to our information, the vessel’s crew cannot extinguish the fire on its own. There is no cargo aboard the ship,” the ministry said.
The Moskin ice-breaker is heading towards the stranded cargo ship. A Mi-8 helicopter is also involved in the rescue operation, the ministry said.
The Ivan Vikulov cargo ship, which is 140 meters long and 16 meters wide, was made in 1992.
