Merchant vessels rig improvised gear to fend off rising Black Sea drone strikes
Tankers and cargo ships navigating the Bosphorus are now equipped with nets, water tanks and tyres to try to survive an upsurge in Russian and Ukrainian drone attacks.
Amid a sharp increase in drone assaults on commercial traffic in the Black Sea, ship operators are improvising defenses while transiting the Bosphorus. Footage shows tankers draped with water tanks, tyre loops and netted "cope cages" intended to blunt the impact of small explosive drones. Corey Ranslem, chief executive of maritime-security firm Dryad Global, notes that such gear can deter minor threats but may not stop larger, military-grade drones or fast-moving naval drones.
The trend follows intensified Ukrainian strikes on vessels linked to Russian oil and grain exports since July, exemplified by the abandoned Russian-flagged cargo ship Omskiy-107 that drifted onto a northern Istanbul beach. Turkish authorities have also reported heavily damaged ships like the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Great Ocean, and have summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after attacks near the Russian port of Tuapse. President Tayyip Erdogan warned that the ongoing hostilities threaten global grain supplies, while Russia has rejected proposals to revive the Black Sea grain export agreement.
Why it matters
Improvised ship defenses highlight escalating maritime risks that could disrupt global grain and energy shipments.
In this story
