(A dredging vessel. PHOTO: USPA)
The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) has begun work to recover a dredger that hit a mine at the mouth of the Bystrom River in Odesa Oblast in July 2025.
This was announced by Oleksandr Semyryga, Head of USPA, in an interview with Ukrainian Shipping Magazine.
According to him, the vessel is currently half-submerged, but it is planned to be restored and used again. Mr. Semyryga also emphasized that the July incident can serve as an example of how dangerous it is to carry out dredging in the Odesa region, as the vessel was working within the existing export corridor in an area that is regularly checked for mines.
"We cannot carry out dredging or any other work where no mine surveys have been carried out and the proper level of security is not ensured. The example of our dredging vessel on the approach channel of the Bystryi estuary is particularly illustrative: even within the existing corridor, even with mine action measures in place, it was damaged by a mine. The vessel was half flooded, and we are now working to raise it and restore it," the official said.
Late in the evening, on July 23, an emergency occurred with a dredger belonging to the Delta Pilot branch of the state enterprise Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority - the vessel hit a mine. The explosion killed three USPA employees. Other crew members were hospitalized. The vessel was at the mouth of the Bystrye River to carry out scheduled work with 11 crew members. The Bystre estuary channel was closed to ship traffic for some time.
This was the first such incident in the last three years. The last time vessels were reported to have been blown up by mines in the Bystryi Estuary was in 2022, when, also in July, three vessels were blown up in five days. The victims were the pilot boat Orlyk and the small hydrographic vessel Shliakhovyk, and on August 1, a floating crane that was supposed to lift the pilot boat Orlyk exploded on a mine.
After that, the canal was closed until the end of the first decade of August. Reports that merchant ships were once again sailing to Ukrainian Danube ports through the Bystryi Estuary appeared on August 12, 2022.
Кирило Бойко