Greek fleet on alert after wave of Black Sea maritime attacks

July 23 ------ Greece has advised Greek-flagged commercial vessels operating in the Black Sea to enhance security measures following a series of attacks targeting merchant ships in the region, according to Reuters.

The warning comes as tensions continue to rise in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, where Ukraine and Russia have intensified strikes against maritime and energy infrastructure as part of their ongoing conflict.

Greek-operated vessels are among the world’s largest tanker fleets and play a significant role in regional energy and commodity flows. The Black Sea is a key trading route shared by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey, as well as Russia and Ukraine, which has been at war since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The latest advisory follows several recent incidents involving commercial vessels. On 19 July, a Russian missile struck a ship carrying corn near Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa, killing 10 people.

Two Greek-operated tankers were also targeted by sea drones during loading operations at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, a critical oil export facility linking Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea fields with Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The CPC pipeline handles around 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

The affected vessels were the crude oil tanker ASIA, managed by Dynacom, and NISSOS IOS, owned by Kyklades Maritime Corp. A third Greek-operated vessel was also reported to have been attacked in the area, according to the 21 July advisory, Reuters said. “Taking into account the increased tension observed with attacks against commercial ships, it is recommended that all Greek ships in the wider region increase security measures,” the ministry said.

Source: safety4sea.com