500 Drone Strikes Force Halt on Black Sea Trade

The Black Sea has become a lethal zone for commercial shipping, with maritime analysts counting more than 500 attacks on vessels in the region and the Sea of Azov this year.

ED Shipping, a cargo owner based in Turkey, has idled 19 of its 26 vessels in response to the rising threat, a decision that has halted much of the traffic in this key corridor. Chief Financial Officer Demre İşcen stated that the company is losing millions of dollars each month while its fleet sits in port.

The danger is no longer theoretical for the crews who remain at sea. Just after 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, the crew of the cargo ship HS Dignity donned life jackets as the vessel rolled in heavy swells. A sea drone had struck the hull, causing the ship to sink. Chief officer Ashraf Mamdouh, 42, described the chaos as the crew attempted to abandon ship in the dark.

A boat approached the sinking vessel, and the crew initially believed rescuers had arrived. Flashlights revealed no one at the controls, and the boat turned out to be part of the attacking group. It rammed the ship, preventing the crew from fully launching lifeboats. Mamdouh urged others to swim clear of the 123-metre vessel, but strong winds and currents scattered the group. He spent four hours in a drifting life raft before being rescued by the Azov Concord. He is one of five survivors; eleven crew members are missing.

The HS Dignity is among nearly 50 commercial vessels attacked in the Black Sea this month. Data from the risk firm Ambrey indicates that Russia was responsible for 40 of the 45 attacks recorded in October. The Russian Ministry of Defence has acknowledged striking dozens of ships, claiming they supported Ukraine's military. In contrast, Ukraine acknowledged the June 5 attack on ED Shipping’s vessel Circon in the Sea of Azov, stating the targeted ships carried stolen Ukrainian grain, military cargo, and fuel. İşcen disputes this, noting the Circon was heading to load Russian grain.

The attacks have concentrated in the western Black Sea, including off the coasts of NATO members Bulgaria and Romania. On Friday, a search and rescue operation was underway after a Comoros-flagged ship was hit by drones just outside Romanian territorial waters. One body has been recovered, and three crew members remain missing. Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia for the strike.

The human toll is mounting, particularly among Syrian sailors. Khaldoun Nabelsi, head of the Syrian Seafarers Association of the U.K., has counted at least 18 Syrian seafarers killed. The Philippine government has barred its citizens from boarding vessels in the northern Black Sea. For the survivors of the HS Dignity, the journey home is a bureaucratic wait. Mamdouh and his crewmates are in Bulgaria awaiting new documents to fly home.

Mamdouh, who last saw 18-year-old crew member Hamza Suleiman wearing a life jacket, said he will not return to the Black Sea. "I will not go back to the Black Sea again. Never," he said.