The bulk carrier Tsarevna with 18 Bulgarian sailors on board has been stranded for 15 days in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, the Bulgarian National Television reported. The vessel is owned by a Varna company and sails under Maltese flag.
The company's manager said they contact the captain three times a day by satellite phone and notify the sailors' relatives of their condition. All of the crew are fine. They also have enough supplies.
The ship cannot return to Bulgaria, since Russia has closed the Sea of Azov to shipping and Ukraine has closed the port of Mariupol.
Malta, whose flag the ship flies, is negotiating to secure a corridor to allow it to leave the port, but so far with no result.
