Black Sea Trade Freezes as Drone Attacks Kill 31 Sailors

Commercial traffic in the Black Sea has stopped. At least 31 seafarers are dead or missing. Maritime analysts report that nearly 50 commercial vessels have been attacked this month. The strikes have forced a standstill in the region's key shipping corridor. NATO has deployed additional patrol boats and radar systems to secure the waters.

The violence intensified on Oct. 13. The cargo ship HS Dignity was hit by a sea drone just after 1:30 a.m. The vessel began to sink in heavy swells. The captain ordered the 16 crew members to abandon ship. The crew, Syrian and Egyptian nationals, saw a boat approaching in the dark. They thought it was a rescue team. It was another drone. Chief officer Ashraf Mamdouh, 42, said the group had no time to launch lifeboats.

Mamdouh was among five survivors. Eleven crew members remain missing. Among them is 18-year-old Hamza Suleiman, a Syrian on his first voyage. Suleiman's father, Basel, said his son called from the ship on Oct. 12. Basel tried to arrange for his son to leave the vessel in Turkey, but Suleiman stayed aboard. The young man had grown fearful after the ship Alfa Watan was struck on Oct. 6. Ten crew members from that vessel, mostly Syrian, have not been recovered.

Data from the maritime risk firm Ambrey shows more than 500 attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov this year. The firm attributes 40 of the 45 attacks recorded in October to Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defence acknowledged striking dozens of ships. Officials stated the vessels supported Ukraine's military.

Shipping companies are pulling back. Turkey-based ED Shipping has laid up 19 of its 26 vessels. Chief financial officer Demre İşcen said the company loses millions of dollars each month. The firm's ship Circon was hit in June, killing two crew. İşcen disputes Ukraine's claim that the ship carried stolen grain, noting it was bound to load Russian grain.

The Philippine government has barred its citizens from boarding vessels in the northern Black Sea. Khaldoun Nabelsi, head of the Syrian Seafarers Association of the U.K., counted at least 18 Syrian seafarers killed. He noted that economic pressure forces many into these roles. Mamdouh and his surviving crewmates are currently in Bulgaria. They are waiting for new documents to fly home.

Mamdouh said he will not return to the Black Sea. The surviving crew members face a long process for repatriation. The search for missing sailors from the HS Dignity continues. The region's trade flow remains suspended.