Drone Strikes in the Black Sea Kill Sailors and Bring Shipping Traffic to a Near Halt

Just after 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, the crew of the cargo ship HS Dignity stood on deck in life jackets as the vessel rolled in heavy Black Sea swells. A sea drone had struck the hull, the ship was sinking, and the captain had ordered everyone to abandon it.

The 16 crew members, Syrian and Egyptian nationals, then saw a boat speeding toward them in the dark. They shone flashlights at it, believing rescuers had answered their distress call. Then they realized no one was at the controls. "We realized that this boat was also part of the group that was attacking us. Of course, we all ran," said chief officer Ashraf Mamdouh, 42. The drone rammed the ship. "We didn't have time to finish launching the lifeboats," he said.

The Dignity is one of nearly 50 commercial vessels that maritime analysts say have been attacked in the Black Sea this month as the war between Russia and Ukraine spreads further at sea. The strikes have brought much of the traffic in this key shipping corridor to a standstill. NATO has responded by stepping up maritime security, including deploying more patrol boats and radar. At least 31 seafarers have been killed or are missing.

Many of the recent attacks occurred in the western Black Sea, including off the coasts of NATO members Bulgaria and Romania. On Friday, a search-and-rescue operation was underway after a Comoros-flagged ship was hit by drones just outside Romanian territorial waters. Of its 13 crew members, who included Ukrainian and Azerbaijani sailors, one body has been recovered and three people remain missing. Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia.

Data from the maritime risk firm Ambrey suggest more than 500 attacks on commercial vessels this year in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Ambrey believes Russia was responsible for 40 of the 45 attacks recorded in October. Russia's Ministry of Defence has acknowledged striking dozens of ships this month, almost always saying they supported Ukraine's military. Mamdouh said the Dignity had sailed from Algeria and was heading to Romania to load grain.

After the drones hit, Mamdouh urged others to swim clear of the sinking 123-metre ship and tried to keep the group together. Strong winds drowned out voices and currents pulled people apart. A life raft drifted next to him, and he lay in it for four hours until the vessel Azov Concord appeared and he signaled with his phone's flashlight. He is one of five survivors. Eleven are listed as missing, among them 18-year-old Hamza Suleiman, a Syrian on his first voyage.

Suleiman's father, Basel, said his son called on the night of Oct. 12 and said, "Dad, we're in Bulgaria now." The young man had hoped to work in the engine room but was assigned to the deck, and he grew fearful after the Alfa Watan was struck by drones on Oct. 6. Ten crew members from that ship, mostly Syrian, have not been recovered. Basel said he tried to arrange for his son to leave the ship in Turkey, but he stayed aboard. Mamdouh told him he last saw Hamza wearing a life jacket, a detail that keeps the father hopeful.

Khaldoun Nabelsi, head of the Syrian Seafarers Association of the U.K., said he 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.

Shipping companies are scaling back. Turkey-based ED Shipping has 19 of its 26 vessels laid up, according to chief financial officer Demre İşcen, who said the company is losing millions of dollars each month. Its ship Circon was hit on June 5 in the Sea of Azov, killing two crew members. Ukraine acknowledged that attack, saying the vessels it targeted carried stolen Ukrainian grain, military cargo and fuel. İşcen disputes this, saying the ship 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.