The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadzhov, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georg Georgiev, held a meeting today with the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Bulgaria, Mehmet Uyanık, regarding the incident involving the tanker KAIROS, which has been anchored near Ahtopol since Friday.
Minister Karadzhov presented detailed information regarding the movement of the tugboat TIMUR BEY from Turkish to Bulgarian territorial waters, as well as the exact coordinates from which the towing of the tanker KAIROS commenced. The data clearly indicates a purposeful movement towards the Bulgarian coast, entry into Bulgarian territorial waters, and the abandonment of the tanker 6 miles from the coastline.
In this regard, Minister Karadzhov requested that the Turkish side conduct an investigation into the actions of the tugboat TIMUR BEY and that the Bulgarian state receive answers to the following questions:
How did KAIROS reach the point where towing began from the location where it was struck?
Who commissioned the company owning TIMUR BEY to carry out the towing, for what ultimate purpose, and to which destination—a Bulgarian port or elsewhere?
Following the cessation of towing, Bulgarian maritime authorities sent an inquiry to the Coordination Centre-Ankara asking, “Do you have information on what operation the tugboat TIMUR BEY is performing in the Bulgarian area of responsibility and Bulgarian territorial waters?”, to which the response was, “The tugboat TIMUR BEY has completed its task with the ship KAIROS and is returning to the port of İğneada.” Was this the task undertaken by the company—to leave the tanker in the Bulgarian area of responsibility?
Ambassador Uyanık informed them that Turkish institutions have already launched an investigation into the case and committed to providing full information to the Bulgarian authorities in a timely manner. He stated that the cited actions were carried out by a private company and that the Turkish state had not been informed of them in advance.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications continues to coordinate all state actions related to resolving the situation and will insist on clarifying all details of the case. All facts surrounding the incident must be fully established.