Full story
Ships hit near Odesa
Russia struck two cargo ships in the Black Sea south and east of Odesa during the night of Wednesday, August 5, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, and the attacks were described as hitting vessels delivering military cargo.
“durante la noche del miércoles cinco de agosto”
On August 6, Odesa Regional Military Administration Head Oleh Kiper said a Russian strike on the civilian MERA QUEEN cargo vessel killed one Ukrainian sailor and injured three other people, after the attack damaged the ship’s hull and sparked a fire on board.
The Maritime Executive reported that a Ukrainian seafarer was killed on the cargo ship Mera Queen, and that three other seafarers were injured and receiving medical care in a hospital, with the crew evacuated to the shore.
The Maritime Executive also said the vessel was in or near the Odesa port complex and that crews were working to localize the fire and stabilize the 91-meter ship, while it was reported to be at least the 24th seafarer to die since the beginning of July in the ongoing attacks.
In parallel, the German bulk carrier Emil was struck by several Russian drones in the Black Sea near Odesa, with DW reporting technical systems failing and a fire breaking out on board, and the attack taking place on August 5 when the ship was about 21 nautical miles from the port of Odesa.
Ukrainian and Russian claims
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said it had struck a record 236 ships in July, while the Maritime Executive reported that Ukraine was strongly protesting the attacks and highlighting that it hit a record number of Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea in July.
The Maritime Executive quoted Russia’s Ministry of Defense as saying it “continued to launch strikes at ships involved in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” and that “Last night, strike unmanned aerial vehicles hit two dry cargo ships delivering military cargo in the Black Sea waters, south and east of Odesa.”
In Odesa, BBC described a strike campaign that left port workers like Svitlana Halchenko recalling a ballistic missile that killed her colleagues, and she said, “My crane operator, my partner, died five metres from me… The driver remained in the cabin. He also died.”
BBC also reported that Ukraine’s port administration said July saw 57 Russian attacks on civilian vessels, 22 of them at sea, and a further 67 hits on port infrastructure.
The BBC account added that the Black Sea Grain Initiative had established safe maritime corridors to Odesa’s main ports, and a senior manager told the BBC, “Today they do it systematically.”
Food security and navigation
Turkey denounced the escalation affecting civilian shipping, with Dawn reporting that the foreign ministry said it was “deeply concerned about the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, which is affecting civilian shipping despite our numerous warnings.”
““urgently implement concrete measures to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea””
Dawn said Turkey called on all parties to “urgently implement concrete measures to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea” and warned that food supplies could be affected otherwise.
The Maritime Executive said the attacks on commercial shipping were continuing, and it reported that the Seaports Administration recorded 67 port facilities, 35 ships in port, and 22 ships in the sea corridor attacked during July.
Ukrinform reported that a fire broke out on board the German bulk carrier Emil after it was struck by several Russian drones, and it said another UAV struck the ship during the evacuation of the crew.
Ukrinform also noted that Puma confirmed “Puma’s logistics center in Ukraine was attacked by ballistic missiles on the night of August 4,” and that Liqui Moly’s warehouse in Kyiv was destroyed, with a company representative saying rebuilding the warehouse is not currently being considered.
