Türkiye has urged Russia and Ukraine to protect civilian shipping in the Black Sea after a drone struck a Turkish-owned cargo ship, reportedly injuring three crew members. Ankara said attacks on commercial vessels risk further destabilising maritime security.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it was “seriously concerned” about the targeting of civilian vessels in the Black Sea despite repeated warnings from Ankara.
The statement came shortly after Türkiye's Maritime Affairs Directorate announced that the Turkish-owned cargo vessel Nadezhda had been struck by multiple drones on Monday about 20 nautical miles off Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
The ship, which was bound for the Turkish port of Samsun, was reportedly carrying 22 crew members, including 13 Turkish nationals.
According to Turkish authorities, Russian naval units evacuated the crew to Novorossiysk after the attack, which seriously injured three Turkish crew members and partially damaged the vessel.
Turkish officials said rescue operations were hampered by the risk of further drone strikes.
In its Tuesday statement, the foreign ministry said it was closely monitoring the condition of the injured Turkish crew members.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks involving Turkish or Turkish-linked merchant vessels in the Black Sea since the Russia-Ukraine war began in early 2022.
Last week, a Turkish merchant sailor was killed in a similar drone attack on a commercial vessel. Responsibility remains disputed, with both Moscow and Kyiv denying involvement.
In a separate development, Turkish authorities said on Monday that a drone of unknown origin had been found in the Black Sea province of Kastamonu after apparently losing contact with its operator.
According to local media reports, emergency teams secured the area before seizing the drone for forensic examination.
The discovery followed a similar incident in June, when a fixed-wing drone crashed in the same province, fuelling concerns that the war, now in its fifth year, is increasingly spilling over into Türkiye's Black Sea region.
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