Two ships ablaze in the Black Sea region, leaving at least 10 crew dead, caught fire while transferring fuel mid-sea after one vessel - Maestro - was barred from using its usual port in southern Russia due to U.S. sanctions risk, according to sources.
The Maestro ship was subsequently barred from using Temryuk port by the owners of its only gas terminal, Maktren-Nafta, two industry sources said, where it had previously loaded liquefied petroleum gas of Russian and Kazakh origin for export to the Middle East, Reuters reported.
Russia’s Transport Ministry said the two ships caught fire on Monday while loading gas ship-to-ship mid-sea, during stormy conditions.
