Attacks on commercial vessels appear to have become an established tactic in ongoing wars. In the Gulf region, they are part of the continuing war of attrition between the United States and Iran. In the Black Sea, they have become an increasingly prominent feature of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Most of the vessels being targeted are not military ships but commercial ones carrying oil, gas and petroleum products, or food commodities such as wheat and corn. All are essential either to the functioning of the economy or to human survival. In October, commercial shipping in the Black Sea witnessed a sharp escalation, with a series of drone attacks targeting at least nine vessels off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members.
This is a dangerous development through which Moscow is testing the alliance’s cohesion. Several NATO members have already complained of Russian incursions into their territory, raising questions about whether Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for collective defence, could be invoked. Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and the Danube River.
With most Ukrainian ports disrupted, Kyiv has turned to alternative routes to export its grain to markets in Africa and the Middle East. These fall into three main categories: But these alternative corridors have not escaped Russian attacks. According to a report by maritime security company Ambrey, the monthly rate of attacks associated with the Danube corridor was 3.7 times higher in the July-September quarter than in the first half of 2026.
Meanwhile, the Danube’s share of cargo handled at Ukrainian ports jumped from about 10 percent during January-June to 74 percent in August 2026. Seeking to inflict maximum damage and losses on each other, neither Russia nor Ukraine has shied away from using every available means to deter or subdue the other. While the war initially focused on military and logistical facilities, attacks subsequently expanded to infrastructure and ports, then gradually to refineries and energy installations.
Today, food-related facilities and ships carrying grain and other food products are increasingly in the line of fire. At the beginning of the war, Moscow concentrated its strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure for producing grain and oilseeds. It obstructed access to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and repeatedly targeted vessels carrying grain.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
