Black Sea Shipping Threatened
Escalating Drone Strikes Threaten Black Sea Shipping and Global Food Routes
Anonymous
Drone warfare tied to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is increasingly threatening Black Sea shipping, ports and global food-supply routes, with attacks spreading farther offshore and beyond previously designated high-risk areas. Maritime analysts say the Joint War Committee’s expansion of the Black Sea Listed Area reflects a sharp rise in strikes on merchant vessels, and they expect the region to remain contested through 2026. Turkish fishermen injured when their boat was struck off Crimea described severe trauma, the death of their captain and fears of returning to sea; they said Turkish coastguard personnel attributed the incident to a Ukrainian drone, though no side has publicly claimed responsibility. The attacks have prompted higher insurance costs, disrupted grain exports and drawn condemnation from Türkiye, which says civilian and commercial vessels are being targeted without distinction.
Key Points
1
The Joint War Committee expanded the Black Sea Listed Area on September 16 to cover the entire sea, except the territorial waters of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Türkiye.
2
Ambrey reported that 45 merchant vessels were struck outside the previous high-risk boundary in the 12 months to September 21, 2026, including 33 attacks in the preceding three months; it said attacks beyond the old boundary had become routine.
3
Ambrey said attacks on Black Sea ports rose from 21 to 139 quarter-on-quarter and assessed that the open sea would remain a contested operating environment for the foreseeable future because neither Russia nor Ukraine had accepted a maritime truce.
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The attack on the fishing boat Duru 67 killed its captain, Cüneyt Varlık, during the return voyage after shrapnel severed his carotid artery; the five injured crew members were rescued by another fishing vessel.
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The expansion of drone warfare is also raising concerns about increasingly autonomous weapons: an analysis cited by The Conversation warned that Russia and Ukraine are developing drones capable of operating with less direct human control.
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