Off the coast of Turkey, not far from Istanbul, a Russian dry cargo ship ran aground on 30 August, according to Turkish media reports.
According to their reports, shortly before this, the vessel had come under attack from drones in the port of Novorossiysk. Following the strike, the crew abandoned the vessel in lifeboats, and the damaged ship, now unmanned, drifted across the Black Sea for several days until the waves carried it towards the Turkish coast.
The 108-metre cargo ship ‘Omsky-107’ is registered at the port of Taganrog. Recently, it had been sailing between ports in southern Russia and Turkey. The exact date of the attack on it in Novorossiysk has not been disclosed.
Photographs of the vessel were published by the Haberler newspaper. The images show that the dry cargo ship sustained serious damage from the impact and fire. The wheelhouse and captain’s bridge are visibly burnt and damaged.
The ‘Omsky-107’, which was approaching the shore, was spotted by people relaxing on the beach. They called the emergency services. Coastguard boats surrounded the vessel, and an investigation has been launched.
In recent months, Russian ports on the Black Sea have been regularly targeted by Ukrainian drones, with Novorossiysk coming under attack particularly frequently. Both military vessels and cargo ships are being targeted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On 28 August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that “the Russian side acknowledges that the ships of its Black Sea Fleet are effectively blockaded in Novorossiysk as a result of our drone strikes and are unable to operate at sea”.
In early August, shipping companies began introducing military risk surcharges on voyages to and from Novorossiysk. And on 27 August, the world’s largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), suspended operations with the port of Novorossiysk following a drone attack on one of the company’s vessels.