India condemns Black Sea attacks on merchant ships that endangered Indian seafarers

Centre · 1India's Ministry of External Affairs condemned a string of recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea that put Indian crew members at risk, and called for an immediate halt to the targeting of shipping. 1 Centre · 1Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described four incidents involving merchant vessels over about 48 hours at a bi-weekly press conference on 7 October. 1 Centre · 1Jaiswal said three Indian nationals were aboard MV Royad Mammadov when it was attacked. All three are safe, but one was injured and is receiving medical treatment. 1

Centre · 1The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan was attacked the day before the briefing, and Jaiswal said the fate of its crew was unknown. 1 Centre · 1The Palau-flagged MV ABLE was hit by a drone. All 18 crew, seven of them Indian, were rescued, and one Indian was injured and is being treated. 1 Centre · 1All 23 crew of the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Aframax Rio were Indian nationals, and all were rescued after it was attacked. 1

Centre · 1Jaiswal said India maintains that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward and has engaged both Russia and Ukraine. They said India is working with both on Black Sea shipping safety and on grain and energy exports. 1 Centre · 1Gulf News, carrying ANI copy, added that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv is reviewing four international proposals and considers India's the most comprehensive. It also reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's peace efforts. 1 Centre · 1Shipping in the Black Sea has faced escalating attacks since 2022. ANI's background says Moscow has recently struck grain carriers near Romania, while Kyiv says its attacks on Russian petroleum infrastructure are a legitimate response to aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities. 1

Centre · 1Deutsche Welle reports that on the morning of 6 October drones hit two commercial ships off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast and sank one of them, causing alarm and outrage in Bulgaria and the EU. Its article does not name the ships or link them to the incidents India described. 2 Centre · 1DW says the attacks come as the EU pushes Bulgaria to become a key entry point for Asian goods through the Middle Corridor, which runs from China through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The EU aims to raise €12 billion in public and private investment to improve connectivity. 2 Centre · 1Vessela Tcherneva of the European Council on Foreign Relations told DW that security limitations are the main obstacle and that the outcome of Russia's war in Ukraine will affect whether the corridor succeeds. DW called the drone attacks a stark reminder that security on the route could remain a problem. 2