Russian naval attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea have significantly increased in October 2023. These attacks aim to reduce the volume of maritime transport towards Ukraine and from there, specifically targeting ships located in Romania's exclusive economic zone and Bulgaria's territorial waters.
Details of Naval Attacks
This month, eight attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea have been recorded. Of these, four ships were attacked in waters near the Romanian coast. The chemical tanker flying the San Marino flag named Wine Trader (IMO 8808707) and the cargo ship flying the Turkish flag named Royad Mammadov (IMO 9356969) were targeted in Romania's exclusive economic zone. Additionally, two other ships flying the flags of Comoros and the Marshall Islands were also attacked in Romania's territorial waters.
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Attacks on the Bulgarian Coast
Four other ships were attacked on the Bulgarian coast. The ship flying the Guinea-Bissau flag named HS Dignity (IMO 9545912) was struck, resulting in the disappearance of 11 sailors. The Maltese ship Chelsea-3 (IMO 9361392) was attacked three times, and the ship flying the Palau flag named Able/AEL (IMO 9001136) was also targeted. Regarding the ship flying the Togolese flag named Alpha Watan (IMO 7510884), Syrian officials have raised strong objections to the premature cessation of search operations for 10 missing sailors.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal states are not responsible for the security of vessels passing through their exclusive economic zone, and this responsibility lies with the flag state. However, any attack on ships in territorial waters is considered an attack on the territory of that state.
NATO has not shown a significant response in this regard and is likely to act only if requested by one of the member countries. With the increase in attacks, ships have turned to longer routes to mitigate existing dangers. In this context, Romania has publicly accused Russia of carrying out these attacks and has called for NATO assistance to address these threats.
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