Charges pressed against captain and assistant captain of stranded Vera Su ship for causing incident

Charges have already been pressed against the captain and his second assistant on the ship "Vera Su", which got stuck in the rocks near the protected area of Yaylata, the District Prosecutor's Office in Dobrich confirmed on October 8.

The two were detained for up to 72 hours yesterday, and the prosecutor's office has already submitted a request to the court for a detention in custody measure.

The court is to schedule a hearing within this period, the prosecutor’s office explained.

Due to the bad weather conditions in the area where the ship was stranded, the rescue operation has been suspended. The vessel is solidly stablilised and there is no risk to be broken by the strong sea waves, the Bulgarian authorities said.

All nine crew members of the cargo ship Vera Su were evacuated. They were placed under quarantine in Bulhgaria’s coastal town of Kavarna.

The tree barges from Italy, which will be unloading the cargo from the ship, have arrived .

The unloading of the nitrogen fertiliser from the stranded ship will begin when the weather is calm.