Civilian vessel damaged by explosion off Odesa coast, no crew casualties - Navy

Near the coast of Odesa, a civilian vessel hit an explosive object, causing an explosion. As a result of the incident, the ship did not suffer serious damage, and there were no casualties or fatalities among the crew, Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Naval Forces, told UNN.

Details

We can confirm that an explosion of an unidentified explosive object occurred, but the vessel did not suffer significant damage and is proceeding under its own power. There are no casualties among the crew. The vessel is civilian. We confirm the fact, and demining work continues.

The Navy spokesman emphasized that measures to maintain mine safety are carried out constantly. He stressed that no similar incidents had occurred for two years.

Measures to maintain mine safety are constantly carried out by the Naval Forces and other relevant units. This work is inconspicuous, but it has always been ongoing, and for two years we have not had similar incidents.

He also emphasized that it is difficult to guarantee absolute safety at sea, but if it weren't for the work of the Navy, there would be tens of times more such cases.

Despite all this work that we do, it is certainly difficult to guarantee 100% safety. If the Naval Forces did not constantly demine with the forces we already have, there would be tens of times more such cases. This year we have already detected and neutralized dozens of such objects, including those from the Second World War.

Addition

In the Odesa region, three people died on the beach: a woman and two men. It was preliminarily established that they blew up on unknown objects while swimming.

On the coast of Odesa region, a unit of the Ukrainian Navy destroyed an anti-ship sea mine brought by waves. The explosive object was eliminated by controlled detonation.