Russian Navy Patrol Ship Fires on Cargo Vessel in the Black Sea
MOSCOW, Aug 13 (Reuters) – In a significant escalation of tensions, a Russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea on Sunday. This marks the first time Russia has fired on a merchant vessel beyond Ukraine since it exited a UN-brokered grain deal last month.
According to Russia, the Vasily Bykov patrol ship opened fire on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship’s captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Sukru Okan was heading towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail, but Refinitiv shipping data indicated that it was near the coast of Bulgaria and en route to the Romanian port of Sulina.
The incident comes after Russia announced its decision in July to halt participation in the Black Sea grain deal, which allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea. Moscow has cautioned that it considers all ships heading to Ukrainian waters as potentially carrying weapons.
The Russian military boarded the vessel with the help of a Ka-29 helicopter. After completing its inspection, the Sukru Okan continued its journey to the port of Izmail, according to the Russian defense ministry.
A Turkish defense ministry official confirmed that an incident had taken place involving a ship heading for Romania. Ankara is currently investigating the matter.
The firing on a merchant vessel raises concerns among shipowners, insurers, and commodity traders about the dangers of navigating the Black Sea. Both Russia and Ukraine heavily rely on the Black Sea for exporting their agricultural produce, including wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed, sunflower oil, and fertilizers.
Since Russia’s departure from the Black Sea grain deal, Moscow and Kyiv have issued warnings and conducted attacks, resulting in unease in global commodity, oil, and shipping markets. Russia has stated that it will consider any ships approaching Ukrainian ports as potential military vessels and their flag countries as combatants on the side of Ukraine. In response, Ukraine has threatened ships approaching Russian or Russian-held Ukrainian ports. The ongoing tensions have led to concerns of a de-facto blockade of Ukrainian ports and the potential disruption of wheat and sunflower seed exports to global markets.
Neither the Sukru Okan vessel nor its owners were immediately available for comment, and Ukraine has not yet provided a statement concerning the incident.
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow and Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara; Editing by Nick Macfie