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Cargo ship comes under attack by Russian warship in the Black Sea
来源：shippingazette 编辑：编辑部 发布：2023/08/16 15:32:23
A RUSSIAN warship fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the south-western Black Sea last Sunday as it made its way northwards, the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month.
In July, Russia halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea. Moscow said that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons, reports UK's The Guardain.
Russia said its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection.
Russia said the vessel was making its way toward the Ukrainian port of Izmail. Refinitiv shipping data showed that the ship was currently near the coast of Bulgaria and heading toward the Romanian port of Sulina.
"To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministry said.
The Russian military boarded the vessel with the help of a Ka-29 helicopter, the ministry said. "After the inspection group completed its work onboard, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail."
A senior adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the incident was a "clear violation of international law of the sea, an act of piracy and a crime against civilian vessels of a third country in the waters of other states."
The adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted that "Ukraine will draw all the necessary conclusions and choose the best possible response".
Mr Zelenskiy did not mention the incident in his nightly video address.
Firing on a merchant vessel will ratchet up already acute concerns among shipowners, insurers and commodity traders about the potential dangers of getting ensnared in the Black Sea - the main route that both Ukraine and Russia use to get their agricultural produce to market.
Russia and Ukraine are among the world's top agricultural producers, and major players in the wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed and sunflower oil markets. Russia is also dominant in the fertilizer market.
Since Russia left the Black Sea grain deal, both Moscow and Kyiv have issued warnings and carried out attacks that have sent jitters through global commodity, oil and shipping markets.
In July, Russia halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea. Moscow said that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons, reports UK's The Guardain.
Russia said its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection.
Russia said the vessel was making its way toward the Ukrainian port of Izmail. Refinitiv shipping data showed that the ship was currently near the coast of Bulgaria and heading toward the Romanian port of Sulina.
"To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministry said.
The Russian military boarded the vessel with the help of a Ka-29 helicopter, the ministry said. "After the inspection group completed its work onboard, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail."
A senior adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the incident was a "clear violation of international law of the sea, an act of piracy and a crime against civilian vessels of a third country in the waters of other states."
The adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted that "Ukraine will draw all the necessary conclusions and choose the best possible response".
Mr Zelenskiy did not mention the incident in his nightly video address.
Firing on a merchant vessel will ratchet up already acute concerns among shipowners, insurers and commodity traders about the potential dangers of getting ensnared in the Black Sea - the main route that both Ukraine and Russia use to get their agricultural produce to market.
Russia and Ukraine are among the world's top agricultural producers, and major players in the wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed and sunflower oil markets. Russia is also dominant in the fertilizer market.
Since Russia left the Black Sea grain deal, both Moscow and Kyiv have issued warnings and carried out attacks that have sent jitters through global commodity, oil and shipping markets.