Russia attacked a cargo ship in the Black Sea: captain killed

Russian troops attacked a cargo ship flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda in the Black Sea on the night of September 23. The captain of the vessel, a citizen of Ukraine, was killed in the strike.

This was reported by the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA). A fire broke out on board after the hit. The crew was evacuated by Ukrainian Navy forces, and the blaze was later extinguished.

The USPA called the attack yet another Russian strike on civilian shipping in the Black Sea. The name of the ship, its cargo, and the exact location of the impact were not disclosed in the official announcement.

On the morning of September 23, the Russian Defense Ministry separately claimed that Russian drones had hit a dry cargo ship at night that was allegedly heading to Odesa with "military-purpose cargoes." The Russian agency did not name the vessel, its flag, or the nature of the cargo and provided no evidence for its claim. By timing and general description, it may refer to the same attack reported by the USPA, but there is currently no official confirmation of this.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also reported strikes on three logistics centers in Odesa and a drone components warehouse in the settlement of Myrne. The Russian side's assertions regarding the purpose of the targeted facilities require independent verification.

This is not the first recent attack on a commercial vessel near Ukrainian ports. On September 17, the USPA reported that a Russian drone hit a ship under the Tanzanian flag heading to one of the Ukrainian ports. The captain was killed and three other crew members were wounded. Earlier, on August 5, a Ukrainian crew member died as a result of a strike on the MERA QUEEN ship flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau.

At the same time, Ukraine also strikes vessels that its military and special services claim are involved in Russian military or energy logistics. In particular, on September 3, the Ukrainian Navy reported hitting the Russian logistics support vessel NEFRIT in the port of Sochi. In July, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced a strike on the sanctioned tanker Blue near occupied Yalta, which the Ukrainian special service attributes to Russia's "shadow fleet."

Source: Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine