The Black Sea has overtaken the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf as the most dangerous region in the world for merchant sailors. More sailors have died there this year than in any other body of water, according to the Financial Times and maritime data. Commercial crews on oil tankers, cargo ships and grain carriers face a gauntlet of drone, missile and explosive-boat attacks as Russia and Ukraine step up their battle over the vital route for grain and Russian oil.
More than 570 vessels have been struck in the Black Sea this year, killing at least 40 sailors, according to maritime security company Ambrey and the International Maritime Organization. That compares with 24 confirmed fatalities in the Hormuz. Some ships have been hit in the crossfire of attacks on ports, while others were deliberately targeted. Attacks averaged more than four a day in the third quarter. Reporting in both regions remains patchy, so the true scale of the damage is hard to establish.
Shipping groups say many operators are unwilling to enter the Black Sea, where margins are lower and trading is far more dangerous, even as record-high freight rates tempt some to carry oil out of the Middle East. Oleg Grygoriuk, chair of the Marine Transport Workers' Trade Union of Ukraine, called calling at Ukrainian ports "near suicidal". In October, two drones hit the chemical tanker Wine Trader off Romania's coast, and the tanker Yara J was hit nearby.
Romania's President Nicușor Dan accused Russia of escalating the war on the edge of Nato territory. Bridget Diakun of Lloyd's List Intelligence said she had never seen anything like the current situation. About 387 ships were struck between July and September, more than five times the previous quarter, driven in part by a Ukrainian drone campaign against Russian vessels in the Kerch Strait.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing