Ukraine blames Russia for deadly sinking of Turkish ship in Black Sea

Russian drones struck a grain ship in the Black Sea on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after Romania reported a ship had caught fire and sunk near its coast with two crew members killed.

“A horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn,” Zelensky said in a post on X, adding that the ship was Turkish-owned and that Azerbaijani and Indian nationals were on board.

Romanian authorities said two crew members had died and 11 were rescued after the 139-metre (455 foot) long Royad Mammadov caught fire in the Black Sea, an increasing battlefield for drone attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The interior ministry said it sank about 30 nautical miles south of the fishing port of Sfantu Gheorghe.

“At around 11:00 am, Coast Guard border police officers were informed that a fire had broken out on board a commercial vessel located within Romania’s exclusive economic zone,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said 11 crew members were rescued and two bodies recovered.

Zelensky said the ship’s captain was killed in the strike.

Three crew members suffered injuries and eight were unharmed, Romanian Naval Authority spokesperson Irina Puscasu told AFP. The injured were evacuated by helicopter.

Romanian authorities did not immediately attribute a cause for the incident.

Drone activity has become increasingly frequent across eastern Europe as Ukraine, which borders NATO member Romania, fights off a Russian invasion launched in 2022. Both countries increasingly rely on drone warfare.

Turkey has expressed concern over the attacks on Black Sea shipping and Turkish seafarers have staged protests over deaths suffered in the attacks.

Turkey’s Chamber of Maritime Commerce (IMEAK) said last month that since the start of the war, 226 civilian and commercial vessels have been attacked in the Black Sea, the vast majority this year.

Turkey has expressed frustration to both sides, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the UN General Assembly the attacks were “unacceptable”.

“Ukraine has repeatedly proposed concrete steps to de-escalate the situation and ensure security in the Black Sea,” Zelensky said on Monday, adding that “pressure is needed to restore global food security”.

The injured from the Royad Mammadov were rescued by a helicopter, authorities said.

Tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed the ship’s last port of call appeared to have been Izmail, in southern Ukraine, which it left on September 18 fully laden. It had been headed to Ravenna, in Italy.

War-related objects found in the Black Sea have more than doubled in six months amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, maritime risk expert Ambrey said last month in a report.

At least a third of them carried live payloads. The objects include unexploded ordnance, drones and other unmanned vehicles found washed ashore or floating at sea, it said.

The increase has been concentrated in Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish waters, with the trend expected to continue.

In August, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet destroyed a marine drone near an offshore gas project in the Black Sea, with Romanian President Nicușor Dan blaming Russia for the incident.

In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded in Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta without causing casualties.

Kyiv said the drone had been knocked off course by Russian electronic interference.