High number of attacks continue in Western Black Sea and the Gulf

The San Marino-flagged chemical tanker Wine Trader was attacked by drones off the Romanian coast last Thursday (15 October). The vessel caught fire and an urgent search and rescue mission was launched by local naval authorities, with five of the 12 crew members rescued and seven still missing, according to latest reports.

Wine Trader was said to be 13 nm east of Sulina at the mouth of the Danube when authorities were alerted to the fire. Fellow chemical tanker Yara J was also reported to have suffered a drone attack the previous day.

Then Romania said on Saturday (17 October) that it shot down two drones over the Black Sea

"The Black Sea will be safe again," Romania’s Foreign Minister Oana Toiu tweeted on X, adding that NATO will discuss the issue at a meeting on Tuesday. "The Black Sea serves as a critical maritime artery for the global export of grain, energy resources and industrial commodities,” she wrote, “making its stability vital to international food and energy security.

In total, five ships were attacked in the Western Black Sea last week, INTERTANKO reported in its weekly update published on 16 October, including three other bulk carriers. This follows attempts by the US to mediate a peace agreement between the two sides, which included a truce on attacks on energy infrastructure, INTERTANKO said, with neither side having been able to reach a consensus on a peace deal.

With Ukraine’s announcement that it will resume attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, further attacks on ships can be expected, INTERTANKO said. Similarly, it is also expected that Russia will continue to attack ships.


Meanwhile, over in the Gulf region 10 ships were hit last week, with the previous week having seen 11 suffer the same fate, according to INTERTANKO. Two seafarers were killed on one ship, and a containership was sunk in the Strait of Hormuz (SoH).

On 8 October, President Trump had stated that there would be no further attacks on Iran prior to the mid-term elections on 3 November. This has allowed Iran to operate free from attacks and launch multiple attacks on shipping, commented INTERTANKO. The targeting of ships appears to be wider than within the SoH, with several ships hit within the Gulf of Oman.

A reduction in the number of attacks in the coming week is seen as unlikely, the tanker body added, with no change to the situation expected prior to the US mid-term elections.

Finally, no attacks have taken place in the Red Sea for multiple weeks as the Houthis continue to fight on land against the International Recognised Federal Government. The Houthis appear to be focusing on the land war to the exclusion of the shipping. It should be recalled that the Houthis have threatened an economic blockade of Saudi Arabia, including attacks on shipping – and so the situation at sea could therefore change rapidly, concluded INTERTANKO.