Russian Drones Sink Turkish-Owned Grain Ship as Ankara Pushes Black Sea Security Deal

Russian drones struck and sank a Turkish-owned grain ship in the Black Sea on Monday, killing two crew members aboard a vessel named after an Azerbaijani serviceman killed in the 2020 Karabakh war.

The Royad Mammadov, carrying corn from Ukraine’s Izmail port toward Ravenna, Italy, was hit by two Russian drones in neutral waters, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“A horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn,” Zelensky wrote on X.

Azerbaijani and Indian nationals were aboard the vessel. Zelensky said the captain was killed, while the fate of another crew member was initially unknown. Eleven sailors were rescued, one of them injured.

Romanian authorities later confirmed that two people had died and 11 crew members were rescued after the vessel caught fire and sank in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, roughly 30 nautical miles south of Sfântu Gheorghe.

Three crew members were injured and eight were unharmed, according to Romanian maritime officials, with the injured evacuated by helicopter.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also condemned the Russian attack on the Turkish civilian vessel and offered condolences over the deaths. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry published his statement Monday as Kyiv called for greater international pressure over attacks on civilian navigation.

The Royad Mammadov was named after an Azerbaijani serviceman killed during the 2020 war over Karabakh.

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The ship is linked to Turkey’s Palmali shipping group, founded by Azerbaijani-born businessman Mübariz Mansimov.

Turkey has repeatedly voiced alarm over attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea.

Turkey, UN push for safer Black Sea corridor

The attack also comes as Turkey and the United Nations are seeking to revive talks on maritime security in the Black Sea, including proposals for a protected commercial shipping corridor.

Ankara has pushed Moscow and Kyiv toward arrangements aimed at halting attacks on civilian vessels and ports, drawing on the model of the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by Turkey and the UN.

That agreement allowed millions of tons of Ukrainian agricultural products to reach global markets before Russia withdrew from the deal in 2023.

Turkey has since urged both sides to restore safer navigation and has presented proposals aimed at reducing attacks on commercial traffic and rebuilding confidence in Black Sea shipping.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to Baku on Sept. 15, where he held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. The Russo-Ukrainian War and the deteriorating security situation in the Black Sea were among the issues discussed.

Speaking alongside Bayramov in Baku, Fidan warned that mounting attacks on civilian vessels were threatening lives, property and freedom of navigation, noting that both Turkish and Azerbaijani sailors had already been killed. He said Ankara was continuing talks with the parties and working on proposals that specifically prioritize the Black Sea.

The timing of the visit underscored Ankara’s effort to build regional backing for renewed Black Sea diplomacy, although neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan publicly said that Fidan had asked Baku to formally join the initiative. It also remained unclear whether Azerbaijan had endorsed the proposed arrangement.

Turkey’s current effort, pursued alongside the United Nations, is aimed at reducing attacks on civilian shipping and establishing safer commercial navigation – an initiative that echoes the Black Sea Grain Initiative Ankara and the UN brokered in 2022.

Zelensky said Ukraine has repeatedly offered “concrete steps to de-escalate the situation and ensure security in the Black Sea,” while third countries have also put forward proposals.

“But Russia consistently chooses terror and sinking civilian vessels instead of normal maritime navigation,” he said. “Pressure is needed to restore global food security.”

The sinking of the Royad Mammadov adds new urgency to those efforts, particularly for Turkey as Turkish-owned vessels and seafarers are increasingly exposed to attacks in the expanding Black Sea drone war.