LONDON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 35 merchant ships were attacked in the Black Sea during July, during which 23 seafarers were killed, British shipping newspaper Lloyd's List reported late Tuesday.
Citing the Turkish seafarers' union Deniz Iscileri, the newspaper said that if confirmed, the figure would make July 2026 the deadliest month for merchant mariners since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, although the casualties could not be independently verified due to the highly opaque nature of the war.
The Black Sea conflict has entered a more dangerous phase for commercial shipping, as escalating strikes on merchant vessels, tankers and port infrastructure have raised seafarer casualties to their highest levels since the war began, the report said.
The distinction between military operations and civilian shipping is "becoming dangerously blurred," Lloyd's List quoted Dimitris Maniatis, chief executive officer of the shipping security provider and consultancy Marisks, as saying.
Analysts said Ukraine had expanded strikes against Russian shipping in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, while Russia had intensified attacks on Ukrainian ports and vessels linked to Ukraine, significantly increasing the risks to commercial shipping.
Some ship operators have attempted to reduce the risk of attack by indicating in their Automatic Identification System transmissions that their cargoes were Kazakh crude oil destined for the European Union. However, Lloyd's List said such measures had not guaranteed protection.
As the risks continue to rise, an increasing number of seafarers have begun refusing assignments on ships entering the Black Sea. ■
