ED Shipping Idles 19 Vessels as Black Sea Drone Strikes Kill 31 Sailors

The Black Sea has become a lethal corridor for commercial shipping this month, forcing major carriers to pause operations. Just after 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, a sea drone struck the cargo ship HS Dignity, sending the 123-metre vessel rolling in heavy swells. The captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. Sixteen Syrian and Egyptian nationals scrambled onto the deck in life jackets as the hull took on water.

Chief officer Ashraf Mamdouh, 42, saw a small boat approach the sinking ship in the darkness. The crew shone flashlights on the vessel, assuming it was a rescue team. Instead, they saw no one at the controls. “We realized that this boat was also part of the group that was attacking us. Of course, we all ran,” Mamdouh said. The drone rammed the Dignity before the lifeboats could be fully launched.

The Dignity is one of nearly 50 commercial vessels attacked in the Black Sea this month. Maritime risk firm Ambrey reports more than 500 attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov since the start of the year. The firm attributes 40 of the 45 attacks recorded in October to Russia. Russian defense officials have confirmed striking dozens of ships, stating the targets supported Ukraine’s military.

At least 31 seafarers have been killed or remain missing. Five crew members from the Dignity survived. Eleven are missing, including 18-year-old Hamza Suleiman, a Syrian on his first voyage. His father, Basel, said Hamza called him on Oct. 12, reporting their location in Bulgarian waters. Basel attempted to arrange for his son to leave the ship in Turkey, but Hamza remained aboard. Mamdouh last saw Suleiman wearing a life jacket as the ship sank.

Shipping companies are scaling back operations in response to the danger. Demre İşcen, chief financial officer of Turkey-based ED Shipping, said the company has laid up 19 of its 26 vessels. İşcen stated the company is losing millions of dollars each month. The firm’s ship Circon was hit in the Sea of Azov on June 5, killing two crew members. Ukraine claimed the vessel carried stolen grain and military cargo, a claim İşcen disputes.

NATO has stepped up maritime security by deploying additional patrol boats and radar systems. Many recent attacks occurred in the western Black Sea, near the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania. On Friday, a search-and-rescue operation continued after a Comoros-flagged ship was hit by drones just outside Romanian territorial waters. One of its 13 crew members was recovered, and three remain missing. Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia for the strike.

Khaldoun Nabelsi, head of the Syrian Seafarers Association of the U.K., has counted at least 18 Syrian seafarers killed. “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. Mamdouh and his surviving crewmates are currently waiting in Bulgaria for new documents to fly home. “I will not go back to the Black Sea again. Never,” Mamdouh said.

The next scheduled step for the survivors is the issuance of travel documents in Bulgaria. ED Shipping will maintain the layup of its 19 vessels until conditions improve, according to İşcen. The maritime community awaits further updates on the missing crew members from the Dignity and the Comoros-flagged ship.