31 Seafarers Lost as Black Sea Drone Campaign Halts Trade

Thirty-one seafarers are dead or missing after a surge of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea.

The strikes have brought traffic in the corridor to a near standstill. Maritime analysts estimate that nearly 50 commercial ships have been hit this month. The violence follows the war between Russia and Ukraine as it spreads further at sea. NATO has deployed additional patrol boats and radar systems to the region in response.

Ashraf Mamdouh, 42, served as chief officer on the cargo ship HS Dignity. Just after 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, a sea drone struck the vessel's hull. The ship began to sink in heavy swells. Mamdouh, 42, ordered the crew to abandon ship. The 16 crew members, who are Syrian and Egyptian nationals, spotted a boat approaching in the dark. They assumed rescuers had arrived. "We realized that this boat was also part of the group that was attacking us. Of course, we all ran," Mamdouh said. A drone then rammed the ship before the lifeboats were fully launched.

The Dignity was traveling from Algeria to Romania to load grain. After the strike, Mamdouh urged his crew to swim clear of the 123-metre vessel. Strong winds and currents separated the group. Mamdouh lay in a life raft for four hours until the vessel Azov Concord found him. He is one of five survivors. Eleven crew members remain missing. Among them is Hamza Suleiman, 18, who was on his first voyage.

Suleiman's father, Basel, said his son called him on the night of Oct. 12 from waters off Bulgaria. "Dad, we're in Bulgaria now," Suleiman told his father. The young sailor had grown fearful after the Alfa Watan was struck by drones on Oct. 6. Ten crew members from that ship, mostly Syrian, have not been recovered. Mamdouh told Basel he last saw Hamza wearing a life jacket.

Data from the maritime risk firm Ambrey 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 attacks recorded in October to Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defence has acknowledged striking dozens of ships this month, stating they supported Ukraine's military. Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia after a Comoros-flagged ship was hit just outside Romanian territorial waters on Friday. One body has been recovered from that incident, and three of its 13 crew members remain missing.

Khaldoun Nabelsi, head of the Syrian Seafarers Association of the U.K., has counted at least 18 Syrian seafarers killed in the recent attacks. "Nobody is forced to take these jobs, but in other ways you are forced. If you want to work, you have to go," he said. The Philippine government has barred its citizens from boarding vessels in the northern Black Sea.

Shipping companies are cutting back operations. Demre İşcen, chief financial officer of Turkey-based ED Shipping, said the company has laid up 19 of its 26 vessels. The company is losing millions of dollars each month. Its ship Circon was hit in the Sea of Azov on June 5, killing two crew members. Ukraine said the targeted vessels carried stolen grain, military cargo, and fuel. İşcen disputed this, noting the Circon was heading to load Russian grain. Mamdouh and his surviving crewmates are waiting in Bulgaria for new documents to fly home. "I will not go back to the Black Sea again. Never," he said.