The Malta Maritime Authority is investigating the sinking of the Malta registered ship Emma in the Black Sea on Friday morning. All 11 crew members, reportedly Turkish nationals, of the vessel are said to be safe after they abandoned their ship before it sank.

The MMA’s Merchant Shipping Directorate said it is informed that the 1971-built 1,520 gross tonnage general cargo Emma first reported flooding in cargo hold no.1. It appears that the crew members first became aware of the flooding last Thursday at about 8pm and made attempts to pump out the water to control the flooding. However, it seems that the flooding rate was beyond the pump’s capacity and the vessel eventually sank to a depth of about 1,500m on Friday at about 7.18am.

The Emma is reported to have been carrying approximately 2,000 metric tonnes of urea. No injuries and pollution were reported.