Navibulgar presented evidence of the storm that damaged the anchor of the Vezhen ship

Navigation Maritime Bulgare (Navibulgar) presented new evidence that the incident in the Baltic Sea was caused by weather conditions, and not by deliberate actions on the part of the Vezhen ship crew. The company has had to explain the circumstances surrounding the rupture of an underwater communication cable between Sweden and Lithuania, as Bulgarian and international media outlets began speculating on the possibility that it acted in favor of Moscow.

Navibulgar CEO Capt. Alexander Kalchev showed journalists photographs that proved that there had been a storm with tall waves in the days surrounding the incident. He also provided technical data on the ship's anchor, which was compromised by the huge waves that had battered the ship for hours.

According to Capt. Kalchev, who cited the NAVTEX system, which provides real-time and historical weather data, the wind speed on January 25, when the cable incident occurred, was around 40 knots (22-23 m/s), and had begun to pick up the previous day.

The waves were about 3 meters tall, as evidenced by the photos from the ship, which show how they crashed on the ship’s deck. The photos also show that the impact of the waves broke one horn of the anchor, which weighs several tons.

How did the anchor fall in the water?

Kalchev also described in detail how the anchor ended up in the water, even though it had been raised and secured on the ship.

Due to the impact of the waves, the anchor moved, albeit minimally, until this eventually ended up loosening the wire holding the chain, which gave way first. The anchor then hung only on the guillotine stopper. It bore the blows of every wave that crashed into the axis of the ship, which little by little led to its wear and tear and the gradual "leakage" of the chain into the sea,” explained Kalchev.

According to him, the photos showing the broken wire (which is one of several mechanisms for securing the anchor) and the worn guillotine are certain proof that the cause lies in the rough sea and not malicious actions.

There is no way to calculate at what point the wire and guillotine would give way and drop the anchor at the exact moment when the ship is next to the cable in order to deliberately cause an incident," Kalchev said.

He also commented on speculations that the ship should have an alarm signal to indicate that the anchor has been lowered. Kalchev admitted that the Vezhen bulk carrier does not have one.

We don't have anchor indicators on these ships. When ordering the vessels, we decided that we didn't need these. These ships have an open tank that is constantly flooded with water, and these devices break down quickly and are more of a problem for the ships. For a closed tank vessel, that's naturally a good solution," Kalchev said.

He explained that anchor leaks have occurred before, but they have never led to incidents like the cable break in the Baltic Sea.

"Still, there is a damaged cable and there is tension, which is of a political nature. I completely understand the sensitivity surrounding the topic," Kalchev said.

He urged both journalists and commentators to await the results of the investigation done by the Swedish authorities.

"Let the experts have their say. There is a good team in Sweden. They are a maritime country, with extensive experience; they can do a quality analysis of the cause of the accident," he said.

The political coloring of the case is probably very interesting, but it negatively affects not only the image of the company but also of Bulgaria. The truth of the facts must come out," added the Navibulgar CEO.

Shadow fleets

Capt. Kalchev commented on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's statement that the incident "shows the threat that the Russian shadow fleet poses."

Kalchev emphatically denied any connections between Navibulgar, which is still 30 % owned by the Bulgarian state, and the Russian shadow fleet.

He pointed out that the Vezhen ship had been listed by the largest classification organization, and that the vessel's insurers are the most reputable companies in the sector.

The ship's civil liability insurance is taken out with one of the three largest insurers in the world. Navibulgar works with the largest charterers in the world. Our ship is brand new and in no way can we be included in the so-called gray fleet," said Kalchev.

He also pointed out that all ten officers on board Vezhen have graduated from either the Naval Academy or the Technical University in Varna.

And he specified that there is still no investigation taking place onboard the ship. The vessel has been detained, and 2-3 hours ago representatives of the state port control boarded it to intervene in case there is a maritime incident.

However, there are no representatives from the team that will conduct the investigation for which the ship was diverted. They are probably currently examining the actual damage to the cable, damage to the hull, marks, etc. The investigation is probably ongoing, but there are no investigators on board the ship and no interviews have been conducted with the crew," Kalchev said.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov