A significant development threatening civil maritime trade in the Black Sea has occurred. The general cargo ship 'Razouk,' flagged under the Comoros Islands and en route to Russian ports, was attacked early in the morning on January 22, 2026, off the coast of the Cide district in Kastamonu. A large explosion occurred on the ship, which was targeted by an unidentified aircraft or missile, the source of which has not yet been confirmed by official authorities. Radar records indicate that the ship was progressing in a northeast direction at the time of the incident but changed its course immediately after the explosion due to an emergency maneuver.

The intensity of the attack was clearly visible in the bridge, the command center of the ship. The bridge windows were completely shattered due to the explosion, and the electronic equipment and chart tables inside were damaged by shrapnel. Images leaked from inside the ship also included fragments of the munitions that caused the attack. The presence of a metal fragment marked with the inscription 'X 430T,' resembling Cyrillic alphabet characters, strengthened the suspicion that the munitions used in the attack could be a missile or a kamikaze drone part belonging to military inventories in the region.

Following the attack, a state of panic prevailed on the ship. Concerned for their safety, the crew pressured the captain to refuse to continue the mission. The crew's rebellion, stating that proceeding on the route to Russia would be suicidal, led the ship's captain to turn the course 180 degrees towards the Bosphorus Strait. The ship, currently fleeing at a speed of 11 knots towards the Sea of Marmara, is expected to enter Turkish territorial waters and request assistance from authorities. This incident has heightened concerns that navigation safety and security in the Black Sea have completely deteriorated.

Source: SeaNews Türkiye