Black Sea attacks hit 45 vessels in new areas: Ambrey

At least 45 merchant vessels have been attacked over the past 12 months in parts of the Black Sea that were not previously listed as high-risk areas, maritime risk expert Ambrey said on Wednesday.

Ambrey said no strikes were recorded in those areas in the previous 12 months. It said the increase was driven by attacks farther from the coasts of Russia and Ukraine, prompting insurers to update risk levels.

More than 70 percent of the strikes recorded so far this year occurred after July 1, Ambrey said. It said strikes blamed on Ukraine against shipping linked to Russia took place mainly off Turkey’s north coast and in open sea south of the Russian ports of Novorossiysk and Sochi.

The Joint War Committee, a London-based shipping insurance body, last week added the Black Sea to a list of areas it views as high risk because of “hull war, strikes, terrorism and related perils.” The designation includes the exclusive economic zones of Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia, but not their territorial waters.

Ambrey senior analyst Tomas Alexa said the change reflected a war that had expanded beyond Russian and Ukrainian waters.

Ambrey also said strikes in Russian and Ukrainian waters had increased. It recorded at least 156 merchant vessels attacked there between July 1 and September 21, compared with 12 in the same quarter last year. It also recorded 139 port strikes in the same period this year, compared with 21 last year.