Liberian-flagged vessel
For anyone not familiar, the Liberian flag is typically used as a flag of convenience to avoid regulations to which otherwise they’d be obliged to conform to. So the vessel probably isn’t Liberian other than on paper.
He told Reuters the ship had been in the port of Pivdennyi loading iron when it was hit.
Yoruk Isik, head of the Bosphorus Observer consultancy, identified the vessel as Kmax Ruler, 92,000 dwt.
https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9436642
https://www.fleetmon.com/vessels/kmax-ruler_9436642_37351/
https://www.balticshipping.com/vessel/imo/9436642
BalticShipping seems to have ownership information freely available, albeit with a warning that it may not be current.
Owner: BLENHEIM SHIPPING UK - LONDON, United Kingdom (UK)
Manager: BLENHEIM SHIPPING UK - LONDON, United Kingdom (UK)
looks further
Yeah, that company dissolved two years ago:
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04548270
BLENHEIM SHIPPING UK LIMITED
Registered office address: Devonshire House, 60 Goswell Road, London, EC1M 7AD
Company status: Dissolved
Dissolved on: 8 April 2021
My understanding is that it can sometimes be pretty difficult to track down actual owners of ships, since shell companies and the like can be involved. Not sure whether that is true for the ship here.
https://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Ships/Kmax-Ruler-9436642.html?show=movement_history
Cyprus Maritime buys Blenheim fleet Mon Mar 02 10:40:28 CET 2015 arnekiel
Hadjiyiannis-led Cyprus Maritime is understood to have paid around $75m for the six ships, which account for all of Blenheim’s surviving fleet, TradeWinds reports.
The UK owner’s exit from shipowning, at least for now, comes only seven months after it sold its aframax fleet to Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific for $210m.
The ships heading for Cyprus Maritime are the 93,000-dwt Ocean Breeze (built 2009), the 91,000-dwt trio Sea Breeze (built 2009), Moon Breeze (built 2011) and Star Breeze (built 2010) and the 2004 built, 76,300-dwt pair Atlantic Breeze and Pacific Breeze. http://www.tradewindsnews.com/finance/355179/cyprus-maritime-buys-blenheim-fleet
“Ocean Breeze” was the previous name of the Kmax Ruler, the ship in question.
So unless it sold subsequent to 2015, the ship is probably owned by an EU-based company.
looks further
This page lists the operator as being “VENUS MARE SA”, as does this.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
At least one person has been killed after a Russian missile struck a civilian ship entering the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa, Ukraine’s military says.
According to the southern defence forces, the Liberian-flagged vessel was struck by an anti-radar missile.
The ship’s pilot is said to have died, while three Filipino crewmembers and a port worker have been injured.
Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov confirmed the incident on social media, adding that the ship was supposed to be transporting iron ore to China.
Ships entering and leaving the port of Odesa have been at risk of Russian attack since Moscow pulled out of a deal earlier this year that allowed for the safe export of Ukrainian grain.
The Russian defence ministry said it regards all cargo ships in the Black Sea bound for Ukraine as potential military targets.
The original article contains 167 words, the summary contains 139 words. Saved 17%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
