ED Shipping Halts 19 Vessels After 500 Drone Strikes

Black Sea trade has nearly stopped.

The halt follows a wave of attacks that has left 31 seafarers dead or missing and forced major carriers to pull their fleets out of the corridor.

Demre İşcen, the chief financial officer of Turkey-based ED Shipping, stated on Oct. 24 that 19 of the company's 26 vessels are currently laid up. İşcen said the pause is costing the firm millions of dollars each month. The company had already suffered a loss in June when drones struck its ship, the Circon, in the Sea of Azov, killing two crew members.

Maritime risk firm Ambrey data show more than 500 attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov this year. The firm attributes 40 of the 45 recorded strikes in October to Russia. Russian defense officials confirmed hitting dozens of ships this month, claiming the targets supported Ukraine's military efforts. Ukraine countered that the vessels carried stolen grain, military cargo, and fuel.

The violence has intensified in the western part of the sea, near the coasts of NATO members Bulgaria and Romania. A search and rescue operation is underway off Romania after drones hit a Comoros-flagged ship on Friday. One body has been recovered from that incident, and three crew members remain missing. Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia for the strike.

The HS Dignity, a 123-meter cargo ship, illustrates the dangers crews now face. On Oct. 13, a sea drone struck the vessel's hull while it was 16 crew members strong. Chief officer Ashraf Mamdouh said the ship began sinking in heavy swells. A boat approached the life jackets, but the crew realized it was uncontrolled and part of the attack group. The drone rammed the ship before lifeboats could be fully launched.

Mamdouh spent four hours in a life raft before the Azov Concord rescued him. He is one of five survivors. Eleven people remain missing, including 18-year-old Hamza Suleiman, a Syrian sailor on his first voyage. His father, Basel Suleiman, said his son called him on Oct. 12 from the waters off Bulgaria. Mamdouh told the father he last saw Hamza wearing a life jacket.

Khaldoun Nabelsi, head of the Syrian Seafarers Association of the U.K., counted at least 18 Syrian sailors killed in the recent attacks. The Philippine government has barred its citizens from boarding vessels in the northern Black Sea. Mamdouh and his surviving crewmates are waiting in Bulgaria for new documents. He said he will not return to the Black Sea.