Grain carrier damaged after hitting Russian sea mine in Ukrainian waters

A Liberian-flagged merchant ship carrying wheat was damaged by a mine explosion off the coast of Ukraine, Reuters reports, citing its sources.

The accident occurred on November 16, when the ship was sailing from Ukraine's southern Pivdennyi port.

Four maritime and trade sources reported that the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Georgia S, loaded with wheat, was lightly damaged in Ukrainian waters.

An unnamed Ukrainian government source claims the ship had likely hit a floating sea mine.

According to MarineTraffic, a ship tracking and maritime analytics company, the vessel was heading to the Romanian port of Constanta on Friday.

Reuters also specified that insurance premiums for war risks for ships have increased after a missile damaged a merchant ship in a Ukrainian port last week.

This is not the first time ships have been blown up by sea mines off the coast of Ukraine. Earlier a ship from Turkey hit a mine in the Black Sea.

On August 14, an explosion allegedly caused by a sea mine occurred on the coast of the Romanian resort of Costinesti. Military divers were deployed to search for another explosive device.

The Bulgarian Navy then stepped up security measures regarding the incident near the Romanian resort village.

After Russian July announcement of withdrawing from the grain deal, the enemy forces began shelling Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure in southern regions. Almost every day, they launched drones and missiles towards the country's southern ports.

Nevertheless, back in August, Ukraine announced the opening of temporary corridors in the Black Sea for merchant ships.

The government announced that it planned to start insuring ships sailing through the grain corridor at its own expense.

On November 15, Ukraine presented a new mechanism for insuring ships against war risks, which will significantly reduce the current insurance premiums for carriers exporting and importing from or to Ukraine by sea.