NATO’s Black Sea nations decry Ukraine war spillover endangering commercial ship traffic — SkimNews
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- Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey condemned attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea after a trilateral defense meeting in Sofia on October 28, stressing the need to protect maritime infrastructure and freedom of navigation.
- Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler affirmed Turkey’s continued enforcement of the Montreux Convention and called the security of commercial shipping routes and littoral states’ safety 'inviolable red lines' for both warring parties.
- Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov emphasized ongoing trilateral and NATO-level cooperation to strengthen maritime security, with future consultations scheduled in Ankara and Bucharest.
- The Bulgarian Navy rescued the crew of the Liberian-flagged merchant ship Contship Jet after it was struck by an unmanned surface vessel 17 miles east of Cape Kaliakra during the Sofia meeting.
- Maritime data from Ambrey and the IMO shows more than 570 vessels have been hit in the Black Sea since January, resulting in at least 40 seafarer deaths—nearly double the fatalities in the Strait of Hormuz over the same period.
Why it matters: Commercial shipping faces escalating danger in the Black Sea, with 40 seafarers killed and over 570 vessels hit in 2024—data that underscores a severe, underreported toll on global trade routes. The coordinated stance by three NATO littoral states signals a shift toward active regional defense of maritime law, not just diplomatic protest.
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