Two Azerbaijani sailors were killed on Wednesday when a foreign cargo ship they were travelling on was attacked by drones in the Black Sea, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
The Ministry named the two citizens who died as Aslan Aliyev and Asim Gasimov.
Two other Azerbaijani crew members were injured in the strike and are currently being treated at a hospital in Chernomorsk, southwest Ukraine, the Ministry added, offering condolences to the victims' families.
The two wounded citizens, Imran Novruzov and Rauf Aliyev, are expected to return to Azerbaijan after being examined and treated.
“We express our deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased, and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said.
“We once again call on Azerbaijani citizens to refrain from travelling to regions where military operations are ongoing or the security situation is unstable, from engaging in labour activities in those areas, or from working on vehicles, including ships, operating on these routes,” the Ministry added.
The ship, called TEDY, was reported to be a Somali-flagged tugboat that had four Azerbaijani nationals among its crew.
It was initially targeted by drones while operating near Odesa, southwestern Ukraine. The damaged vessel then came under two further drone attacks while sailing towards the Romanian port of Constanța, before the fatal strike that killed Aliyev and Gasimov.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry didn't say who was responsible for the attack, but said it was coordinating with the authorities of “relevant countries,” on the matter.
The strike on Wednesday is part of a broader wave of drone attacks between Russian and Ukrainian forces in and around the Black Sea, with merchant vessels often caught up in the fighting.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on ships and infrastructure facilitating Russian oil and grain exports since July, when Russia intensified its missile and drone strikes on the main Ukrainian grain export hubs of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) condemned attacks on civilian merchant vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and highlighted the growing risks to commercial shipping in a statement in July.
Security experts said earlier this month that cargo ships and tankers have begun taking improvised measures for protection when transiting the Black Sea, including using nets and water tanks.
Azerbaijani crews have already been caught up in the violence once this year.
In June, five Azerbaijani crew members were killed in an overnight drone attack on two cargo ships, the Natra and the Zircon, in Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, with three others wounded, Baku’s Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said a mechanism was urgently needed that would permanently ensure safety of commercial maritime transport in the Black Sea.
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