A Vanuatu-flagged cargo vessel identified as Corsage C sank off the Greek island of Andros early on Wednesday after hitting rocks, with all nine crew members rescued, according to Greek coast guard and shipping ministry officials.
The ship had sailed from Albania and was bound for Ukraine with a cargo of soda when it ran aground north of Andros.
The crew comprised eight Turkish nationals and one Azerbaijani. Two seafarers were pulled from the sea and seven were rescued from a rocky area on Andros before being taken to the island’s clinic.
Greek authorities said the cause of the casualty was not immediately clear. Officials initially reported no visible signs of pollution, but precautionary anti-pollution measures were launched, including the deployment of a sea barrier and specialist response vessels.
Greek financial daily Naftemporiki later reported that a preventive anti-pollution operation was under way north of Andros following the sinking.
The incident adds to operational pressure in the Aegean, where coastal states remain highly sensitive to the risk of bunker leakage even when no immediate spill is detected. For cargo interests and insurers, the focus is now likely to shift to wreck response, any pollution fallout and the formal investigation into how the vessel came aground on a rocky stretch off Andros.
