The sinking of the Romanian tugboat in Midia Port: What is known so far / A former player at Farul and Steaua, retrained as a sailor, among the victims

The tugboat Astana capsized on Wednesday morning, and then sank in the port of Midia while assisting the tanker Amades, flagged from the Marshall Islands. One crew member has been declared dead, but it is presumed that the other four missing are also dead. Among the victims is the ship's captain, Sorin Tufan, a former football player.

The sunken tugboat was operated by Rompetrol (Kazakhstan) through Midia Marine Terminal, with five crew members on board.

Adrian Stancu, the deputy director of the Constanța Port Authority, stated that the tugboat's engines stopped, and the vessel sank within a few minutes.

One of the crew members was pulled from the water shortly after the ship sank, but despite resuscitation efforts, he did not survive.

The other four crew members are missing, and search and rescue operations are ongoing, but they are presumed dead.

According to ISU Dobrogea, the search mission involved two vessels from Arsvom with four divers and one Arsvom vessel with ten divers, four military personnel from ISU, and six utility divers also from Arsvom.

How the accident occurred

Adrian Stancu, the deputy director of the Constanța Port Authority, says that the tugboat Astana reported on the radio that the main engines of the vessel had stopped and the ship was left without propulsion before it sank.

"The tanker Amades was on its way to the Monbuoy terminal, located eight kilometers from the Port of Midia. Assisting this vessel for the mooring maneuver was the tugboat Astana, at its stern. At one point, the tugboat Astana reported on the radio that the main engines of the vessel had stopped and the ship was left without propulsion. The pilot on board the Amades vessel conducted checks and discovered that the tugboat Astana was already capsized on its starboard side, a few meters from the stern of the ship. Subsequently, from the observations made, in a very short time, the vessel turned keel up and sank in a vertical position," stated Adrian Stancu, the deputy director of the Constanța Port Authority.

He specified that the causes that led to the stopping of the tugboat's engines are yet to be determined, emphasizing that it sank within a few minutes.

The Romanian Naval Authority states that around 8:40 AM, the Constanța Port Authority, Midia area, was alerted about a naval accident.

"The tugboat ASTANA capsized while assisting the tanker Amades, flagged from the Marshall Islands, for its mooring at the Monbuoy terminal, located approximately 8 km from the Port of Midia," states the Romanian Naval Authority.

The tugboat ASTANA, under the Romanian flag, was built in 2006 and has the following main characteristics: length 26.09 m, width 7.94 m, maximum draft 3.85 m, engine power 2610 kW (3500 HP).

Sorin Tufan, a former defender at Farul Constanța and Steaua Bucharest turned sailor, among the victims

GSP presents a portrait of Sorin Tufan, the captain of the tugboat who was a football player. Sorin Tufan started playing football at the youth team of Farul at the age of 10 and made his senior debut at 17.

In 1992, he was transferred to Steaua, but due to injuries, he was unable to establish himself and retired from activity in 1994, at just 26 years old. After retiring, Tufan became a sailor, like his father.