Dozens of seafarers have died in Black Sea attacks this year, pushing marine war insurance rates as high as 20 percent of vessel value.
The maritime conflict has escalated as Russian drone strikes target merchant vessels, port facilities, and transport routes. Maritime security firm Ambrey recorded more than 570 ships attacked in the area during 2026, creating what Andrej Klimenko, director of the Strategic Research Institute specializing in the region, described as the deadliest maritime route.
Deadliest Marine Route
The death toll in the Black Sea has exceeded 40 sailors this year, surpassing the 24 sailors killed in incidents around the Strait of Hormuz. Ambrey separately documented 696 security events across the Western Black Sea, including approximately 537 in Ukrainian waters.
The strikes have killed more than 30 seafarers and left more than 20 others missing, according to figures from the Turkish Shipowners’ Association, MarineTraffic reports, and local authorities.
Russian forces have targeted commercial ships carrying food exports from Ukraine out into the Black Sea, while Ukraine has also attacked Russian shipping on the other side of the sea with drones, leading shippers to largely move away from the waters off Ukraine and Russia to shelter from attacks.
The escalation includes the sinking of the Greek-owned containership Contship Jet off Bulgaria on October 28. French aircraft detected the three naval drones that subsequently sank the vessel, warning authorities and the vessel approximately an hour before the attack, though its commander acknowledged that while the aircraft could detect approaching threats, it was unable to intercept them.
“Get inside! Come on, come on!” someone aboard the Contship Jet shouted.
The Comoros-flagged Khoryv was reported to have capsized off the coast of Romania.
“The drones had already attacked the ship several days earlier in the same port of Chornomorsk, causing a fire. Most of the crew refused to make the trip, but Oleksiy was always very responsible. He told me that if he didn’t do it, no one would,” Natalia Sydoruk said.
“The whole crew was falling to the deck … nobody could stand properly because of the impact and the chaos. We didn’t have time to finish launching the lifeboats,” Ashraf Mamdouh said.
In the meantime, authorities in Bulgaria disclosed that human remains were located on the San Marino-registered chemical tanker Wine Trader, a vessel brought to Varna for repairs following a drone strike near Romania on October 15; local media reported that six bodies were recovered, and prosecutors have mandated DNA analysis to confirm identities, following reports that five crew members were saved while seven of the 12 total crew remained unaccounted for.
Insurance Costs and War Surcharges
Rising security risks have driven Black Sea hull war premiums as high as 20 percent of hull value.
Coverage for voyages in the Black Sea is now reassessed by insurers every 24 hours, with supplementary policies typically issued for seven-day intervals, including the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov among areas facing heightened war risks, as the Joint War Committee revised its document JWLA-035 on September 16, 2026, to exclude territorial waters of neighboring countries other than Russia and Ukraine.
Major ocean carriers have responded by implementing war risk surcharges. CMA CGM introduced a War Risk Surcharge of USD 35 per TEU, or USD 70 for a standard 40-foot container, effective November 9, 2026, covering ports including Constanta, Varna, Burgas, and Poti.
For shipments involving the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America, the surcharge takes effect on December 1, 2026. From November 15, MSC will apply its Piracy Risk Surcharge of USD 55 per TEU and Suez Canal Surcharge of USD 36 per TEU to additional ports across the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Japan’s Ocean Network Express instituted an import cargo surcharge of USD 55 per TEU starting November 8, 2026, for trades outside Federal Maritime Commission regulation, with FMC-regulated routes taking effect November 29, 2026. Due to deteriorating security, international shipping firms are adding war risk surcharges, which is driving up the expense of moving cargo in and out of the Bulgarian Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas.
Regional Security Responses
Bulgarian prosecutors announced the tanker recovery in Varna, while Romanian radar detected two aerial targets near Snake Island, prompting Spanish F-18 fighters and NH90 helicopters to scramble from the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase, alongside authorities issuing warnings to residents of Tulcea county near the Danube Delta.
Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey activated their joint Black Sea mine-countermeasures group, with vessels participating in the Poseidon 2026 exercise off Bulgaria, and France extended the deployment of its Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft in Romania for several more weeks, while NATO announced plans to deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, and drones to strengthen its eastern flank.
“To isolate Ukraine and intimidate NATO. The more concessions NATO and the European Union make, the more Moscow will take,” former US Colonel Jonathan Sweet said. He said the more concessions NATO and the European Union make, the more Moscow will take. Klimenko questioned the regional response by pointing to the reluctance of several Black Sea countries to confront Moscow directly, stating Russia knew NATO would remain silent.
The European Commission announced plans to fast-track a Black Sea maritime-security hub, while an October submission to the International Maritime Organization was backed by 35 governments and the European Commission.