At least five vessels that were carrying or were due to load grain were attacked near the Russian Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk and Tuapse. Four vessels were struck on Tuesday morning, while another was hit on Monday.
This was reported by Bloomberg, citing its own sources.
According to the outlet, these are the first confirmed cases of attacks on grain vessels serving Russian ports.
One of the vessels attacked was the Russian-flagged bulk carrier Victoria V, capable of carrying 7,000 tons of grain. It was attacked in Novorossiysk, where the vessel was due to load wheat.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Fehu was struck after leaving the same port with a cargo of wheat. According to Bloomberg’s sources, it was able to continue its voyage.
The Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Elina B was hit after loading about 56,000 tons of wheat in Novorossiysk. The vessel is currently heading toward the Bosphorus.
The San Marino-flagged vessel Necibe was attacked by drones at the port of Tuapse, where it was due to load about 20,000 tons of wheat.
The fifth vessel was struck on Monday. The Liberian-flagged Anna S was heading to Novorossiysk to load barley when a drone strike caused a fire onboard. After that, the vessel was unable to continue its voyage.
Since July 10, drone attacks have completely halted shipments from Russia’s Azov Sea ports, which account for a quarter of the country’s grain exports. Last week, three terminals at the deep-water port of Novorossiysk announced the suspension of operations after one of the largest attacks since the start of the war.
