“Sapphire” Ukrainian search and rescue vessel has arrived in the port of Izmail.

Militarnyi informs about it.

According to the State Enterprise “Maritime Search and Rescue Service”, yesterday, April 11, the “Sapphire” rescue ship arrived in Ukraine and is currently moored at the berth of the Port of Izmayil in the Odesa region.

After all the necessary inspections are done by the relevant institutions in Ukraine, the “Sapphire” rescue ship will be returning to fulfilling its primary tasks as soon as possible and will be in permanent search and rescue readiness.

Previously, on March 25, 2022, the crew of the “Sapphire” rescue ship, which had been in Russian captivity since the capture of the ship on February 26, returned to Ukraine as part of the first prisoner of war exchange.

On April 9, the “Sapphire” rescue ship was towed to a raid on the Romanian Port of Sulina.

Despite the age, “Sapphire” is the only Ukrainian civilian specialized vessel that is constantly on alert.

Its tasks are not only related to finding and rescuing people but it also deals with emergency towing and firefighting of ships.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the aggressor has seized 3 Ukrainian ships – “Sapphire”, “Athena” and “Princess Nicole”.

The seizure of civilian ships by warships is a direct violation of international maritime law and the International Convention for the Safety of Maritime Affairs.