NATO member owned ship sinks off Odessa after explosion

An Estonian-owned cargo ship has been sunk off the coast of Ukraine following an explosion. 

Two crew members were in a life raft at sea while four others were unaccounted for, Igor Ilves, managing director of Tallinn-based manager Vista Shipping Agency, told Reuters.

Ilves said:

'The vessel has finally sunk. Two of the crew are in a raft on the water and four others are missing. I don't know where they are at the moment.' 

Ilves said the vessel might have struck a mine.

Estonia is a member of NATO, leading to fears the sinking could spark even further conflict in Eastern Europe. 

The 37-year-old Helt was flying under the Panamanian flag, like many merchant ships who wish to avoid their own countries' strict marine regulations. 

It comes after the Russian Black Sea Fleet was accused of using civilian vessels including the Helt as human shields in the invasion of Ukraine.

The military said the Russian Navy forced the Helt to enter a dangerous zone of the Black Sea to cover the movement of its own warships.  

Ukraine's armed forces said:

'For the safety of civil navigation, the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine closed navigation in the north-western part of the Black Sea.

'At the same time, the Russian Black Sea Fleet continues the tactics of Russian ground forces trying to hide behind civilian lives.'  

It comes just a day after a Bangladeshi-owned cargo ship was struck by a missile or bomb in the Black Sea port of Olvia, killing one of its crew members.  

The Bangladesh-flagged Banglar Samriddhi had been stuck in the port of Olvia since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, and was hit by a missile on Wednesday evening, a Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said on Thursday.

Source: Reuters, MAILONLINE