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Pirates of the Black Sea: Turkish business for the first time called Ukraine guilty of attacks
For the first time, a Turkish shipowner publicly called Ukraine the culprit of attacks on civilian ships and qualified them as piracy. During the day, Ukrainian drones attacked two Turkish vessels — Lider Bordo Mavi and STAR II. Turkish business demands from Ankara not diplomatic notes, but a tough response, otherwise the losses in three months will exceed $ 20 billion, and the straits will finally empty. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Blow after blow
The Turkish cargo ferry Lider Bordo Mavi was attacked by three Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea, as a result of which a fire broke out on board the vessel and five crew members were injured in various degrees of severity. This was reported by the Turkish Haber Trabzon portal with reference to exclusive data from the logistics and rescue services of the region.
Earlier in the day, the STAR II ship belonging to the Turkish company Statü Denizcilik was also attacked.
"The bridge of the vessel was seriously damaged and completely out of order. There are no dead or injured," The Maritime Voice said on the social network.
At the end of last month, the Mv Reyhan Sari cargo ship flying the Turkish flag was attacked by a drone. It was reported that he was heading from the Russian port of Taman to the Turkish Trabzon. As a result, one person was killed, two were injured, and the cargo ship itself was damaged.
In early August, two cargo ships belonging to the country, Yasar and Nadezhda, were also attacked by drones. Three crew members were seriously injured, and one of them later died.
In recent months, civilian vessels have also come under attack in the Black Sea.
Turkish media reported that the strikes were carried out by Ukrainian drones. However, official Ankara preferred not to name whose drones were carrying out the raids, limiting itself to diplomatic notes and calls for de-escalation.
Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the attacks on tankers a blatant case, as well as an encroachment on Turkey's sovereignty.
They suffer heavy losses
The chairman of the board of the company Transbosphor Maritime Transportation, Mustafa Jan, accused Ukraine of attacks on Turkish merchant ships, attributing these actions to piracy.
"Even if you don't sink the ship, you disable it and intimidate the staff. I regard this as pirate attacks. Turkish ships are being attacked, and Turkey needs to take a tougher stance," he urged.
According to the businessman, Ankara may lose up to $20 billion within three months if the strikes do not stop, and rising prices for raw materials, wheat and oil can further increase the financial damage.
He noted that most of the Turkish-flagged vessels had suspended their operations, and called on the Turkish authorities to step up diplomatic efforts towards Russia and Ukraine.
"Five months ago, about 200 ships passed through the Turkish Straits every day, now this number has decreased to 25-30," said Jan. Without specifying the period, he also reported a loss of $700-800 million due to the loss of transit payments alone.
In addition, the businessman noted that ships are forced to choose longer routes, which increases travel time by 10-15 days. Fuel, personnel, and insurance costs are also rising, so it cannot be said that shipowners are making a profit.
According to Jan, the security problem in the Black Sea poses a significant risk to the global food supply, and therefore the creation of a new grain corridor is so important. He added that grain exports from Russia amount to 26.5 million tons, while Ukraine exports about half of this volume.
"This corridor is needed not only by Turkey, but also by the whole world. The inability to transport grain from ports will affect not only the countries of the region, but also global food prices," the Turkish businessman explained.
Ankara is teetering on the edge
Vladimir Avatkov, Head of the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at INION RAS, Professor of the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy at MGLU, emphasized in an interview with Izvestia that attacks on Turkish ships or tankers usually occur immediately after Turkey's negotiations with Western colleagues on Ukraine.
— Is it a coincidence? Is unknown. However, such "coincidences" began to become more frequent. This is probably the feedback from Western "colleagues". The West is rapidly and persistently pointing out Turkey's place in the war in Ukraine. The key goal is to push Ankara against Russia," the Turkologist believes.
The political scientist also pointed out that while local media and captains directly name Ukraine as the culprit of the incident, there is not a word about it in Ankara's official statements.
— A very convenient position is to close your eyes to the culprit, dissolving him in an abstract "conflict". But how can one say otherwise when Turkey adheres to "neutrality", which, according to Turkish logic, for some reason includes military cooperation with Ukraine, from the supply of weapons to the construction of the Bayraktar plant right on Ukrainian territory? — the specialist asked himself.
The analyst did not rule out that Ankara is nervous about the losses caused by drones falling on its territory, ideological losses, as well as because of Russia's successes.
— However, despite this, the sea cargo turnover between Turkey and Ukraine has reached almost 833 thousand tons. Apparently, the Ukrainian attacks on Turkish ships in the Black Sea do not interfere with trade too much, since the figures continue to grow. The intensification of military-technical cooperation is also connected with this," Avatkov suggested.
It is noteworthy that Turkey plans to transfer to Ukraine a large shipment of American weapons worth $ 255.9 million. These are MLRS launchers, ATACMS ballistic missiles, and artillery shells.
— But at the same time, Ukraine is attacking Turkish merchant ships. Turkey is teetering on the edge, declaring peace, protecting trade in the Black Sea, but at the same time arming Ukraine. I hope Ankara will realize that it's time to stop playing "neutrality", otherwise the Turkish sailors will continue to pay for someone else's war and their own double game," the source concluded.
The danger of multi-vector
Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute Elena Panina in her Telegram channel also drew attention to the words of Mustafa Jan. In the context of his words that if the ship is not sunk, it has to be repaired and the crew compensated, she noted that Turkey's troubles do not end there.
"High interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty make it impossible to upgrade its merchant fleet," the political scientist explained.
She also pointed out that Turkey has long been known for its multi-vector policy.
"But it's time to realize that every two-way trade has its limits. If you contribute to the retention of the Kiev regime by transferring and selling weapons and ammunition to it, and at the same time being interested in opening drone production facilities in Kiev, then you can earn money for a while. However, strategically, as the maritime trade unions of Turkey prove, losses are still obtained. It is always much more profitable to be friends with the Russian Federation," the analyst concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
