Cargo vessel Bella L, owned by Bulgarian shipping company Varna Shipping&Trading (VST), saved Czech citizen Pavel Drobny, whose yacht was stranded around 1000 miles off the US coast, Dnevnik reported on July 10.
Drobny was the only passenger of the yacht Phoenix, sending a mayday signal at 1.50am on July 9. The Bulgarian vessel was the only one within distance to help after being notified by the coordination centre in Norfolk and went through a difficult saving operation, which lasted several hours, Dnevnik quoted Evelina Doychinova from VST as saying.
Doychinova said that the weather conditions were extremely adverse but Drobny's life was no longer in danger.
Bella L, whose weight is 24 000 tons, was sailing from the island of Milos to the American port of Claymont. After rescuing the Czech national, Bella L returned to its course for Claymont, where it is expected to arrive on July 12.
VST has seven ships in total, which are owned by European Maritime Group. It is one of the few Bulgarian companies that run cargo routes to the US.