The MUKHTAR GASIMLI was reportedly struck by a drone south of Kerch on July 22, 2026. Details on damage and crew status are pending.
A drone strike has been reported on the general cargo ship MUKHTAR GASIMLI south of Kerch. The ship is not flying the Turkish flag but is managed from Turkey.
The general cargo ship named MUKHTAR GASIMLI, sailing south of the Kerch Strait, was reported to have been attacked by a drone on July 22, 2026. Initial maritime reports indicate that the ship was hit, but official authorities have not yet disclosed the exact coordinates of the attack, which part of the ship was struck, the extent of the damage, or the condition of the crew. The incident is considered to be part of a wave of attacks involving 13 vessels announced by the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces on July 21 and 22 in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. However, since the names of the targeted vessels were not specified in Ukraine's published statement, the connection to MUKHTAR GASIMLI should be approached with caution at this stage.
Robert 'Madyar' Brovdi, Commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, announced on the morning of July 22 that a total of 13 maritime vessels, including one tanker, ten bulk carriers, and two tugboats, were targeted within the scope of an operation called 'MoLoChKa' over a 48-hour period. Brovdi claimed that since July 6, 126 vessels in the Sea of Azov and 70 vessels in the Black Sea had been hit. Thus, the total number announced by Ukraine reached 196. The Kyiv Independent specifically noted that it could not independently verify Ukraine's statement regarding the last 13 vessels.
The figure of 196 announced by Ukraine does not mean that 196 vessels have sunk or become completely unusable. In Brovdi's statements, terms such as 'warned with fire,' 'hunted,' or 'hit' are used regarding the vessels. According to an examination by Reuters on maritime traffic in the region, it is noted that Ukraine's method of attack is largely aimed at disabling navigation, communication, bridge, and control systems rather than sinking ships. Therefore, an explosion in the attack footage does not alone prove that the ship has sunk or suffered severe structural damage.
Open AIS records for MUKHTAR GASIMLI show that the ship was sailing from Samsun towards Rostov prior to the attack. According to the latest record on VesselFinder, the ship was progressing at a speed of 6.1 knots in the Black Sea, reporting Rostov Port as its destination, with an estimated arrival time for the night of July 19. The same record indicates that the ship's draft was 3.2 meters, while the AIS signal was cut off four days prior. Maritime Optima records also show that the ship departed from Samsun on July 18 heading towards Rostov. However, due to the lack of updated AIS information, the exact position and course of the ship at the time of the attack cannot be independently verified.
The ship's route to Rostov normally requires passing through the Kerch Strait. However, the reported estimated arrival time for July 19 being before the date of the attack suggests that the ship may have been on a return voyage on July 21 or 22, may have been waiting to transit the strait, or that the AIS arrival information may not have been updated. None of these possibilities have been confirmed at this stage. It should be noted that in maritime news, AIS target and arrival information is often manually entered by the captain, sometimes not updated, and signal interruptions are commonplace in war zones.
Although MUKHTAR GASIMLI was described as a 'Turkish ship' in some initial reports, the ship does not fly the Turkish flag. According to current ship tracking and registry data, MUKHTAR GASIMLI is registered under the flag of Guinea-Bissau. The ship's IMO number is 9311892, MMSI number is 630001297, and its call sign is J5BH4. Therefore, the most accurate description for the ship would be 'Turkey-connected' or 'managed from Turkey.'
According to ship registry and maritime intelligence records, the safe operational management of MUKHTAR GASIMLI, meaning ISM management, is conducted by Palmali Shipping and Agency based in Istanbul. The commercial manager of the ship is Spring Marine Shipping, and the registered owner is MG Shipping 1 Co Ltd. While the ship has a strong connection to Turkey due to the fleet management conducted by Palmali Shipping and Agency in Beşiktaş, this connection does not legally make the ship Turkish-flagged. The flag state is Guinea-Bissau, the registered owner is a separate company, and the technical and commercial management is carried out by Turkey-connected organizations.
In some older ship databases, MUKHTAR GASIMLI is still shown as flying the Liberian flag and with an old MMSI number starting with 636. Current records from VesselFinder, MarineTraffic, and Maritime Optima overlap in indicating that the ship has switched to the flag of Guinea-Bissau. This discrepancy arises from the ship's recent flag change and some secondary databases retaining old registry information. In the news, the flag of Guinea-Bissau is used based on current AIS and registry records.
MUKHTAR GASIMLI, approximately 140 meters long and 17 meters wide, is a general cargo ship with a deadweight tonnage of 5,684 and a carrying capacity of 6,970 tons. Built in 2004, the ship is 22 years old as of the date of the attack. The platform is based on the 006RSD05 design, also known as Palmali Trader, suitable for river-sea voyages and shallow water conditions in the ports of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The ship's dimensions and relatively low draft allow it to operate in regions such as Rostov, Don River-connected terminals, and ports in the Sea of Azov.
The ship was built at the Volgograd Shipbuilding and Repair Plant with the construction number 221. The keel was laid on August 20, 2003, and the ship was completed on June 5, 2004. The ship has been listed under different names at various times in maritime records, including HEYDAR ALIYEV, PALMALI DISCOVERY, and HUNTER 1, and it took the name MUKHTAR GASIMLI in 2024. This history indicates that the ship has been used for regional bulk cargo transportation in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Marmara, and Don basin for approximately 20 years.
In the port schedules in Samsun, the ship is seen listed for the discharge of 6,125 tons of coal at the Yeşilyurt facility at the beginning of July. Although subsequent AIS data shows that the ship departed from Samsun on July 18 heading towards Rostov, it is unknown whether it was carrying cargo at the time of the attack. The last reported draft of 3.2 meters may suggest that the ship was not fully loaded, but it is not possible to definitively state whether the ship was in ballast or empty based solely on the AIS draft information.
Ukraine identifies all targets in the recent wave of attacks as parts of Russia's 'shadow fleet.' However, there is an important detail regarding the sanction status of MUKHTAR GASIMLI. A scan by MagicPort dated July 22, 2026, indicates that the ship is not under sanctions on over 300 monitoring lists, including OFAC, the European Union, the United Nations, and other international sanction lists. The same system does not show the ISM manager Palmali Shipping and Agency as a sanctioned entity. This commercial scan does not constitute an official legal opinion, but it reveals that Ukraine's use of the term 'shadow fleet' is not synonymous with a published sanction decision for every ship.
The absence of a ship from a sanction list does not alone explain the nature of its voyage or the military logistics connection of its cargo. Similarly, sailing to a Russian port does not automatically make a ship a military target. Since the cargo, charterer, transport contract, and final cargo recipient of MUKHTAR GASIMLI during the attack have not been disclosed, it is impossible to establish a definitive judgment on why the ship was targeted. While there is a general 'shadow fleet' statement from the Ukrainian side, no specific accusation, sanction record, or military cargo claim regarding the ship has yet been made public.
The Kerch Strait, being the only maritime passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, serves as the gateway for ports such as Rostov, Taganrog, Azov, Mariupol, and Don River-connected ports to the outside world. Following the drone attacks carried out throughout July, commercial transits in the Kerch Strait and the Don-Azov Canal were periodically halted. An examination by Reuters based on satellite imagery revealed that there were more than 40 vessels waiting to transit the strait before the attacks, and this density sharply decreased after the attacks. Seatrade Maritime reported that Russian vessels were trying to avoid drone strikes by approaching the eastern shores, while Ukrainian-connected vessels were moving towards the western shores.
The escalation in the Black Sea is not only affecting Russian-connected vessels. Missile and drone attacks by Russian forces on Ukrainian ports and commercial vessels operating to those ports have also led to casualties, injuries, and vessel losses. Seatrade Maritime reported that both sides have increased their attacks on vessels and port infrastructure in recent weeks, while Reuters reported that mutual attacks have disrupted grain transportation and caused a sharp rise in international wheat prices.
The International Maritime Organization also condemned the attacks on civilian commercial vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea in a statement released on July 13. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez stated that attacks arising from geopolitical conflicts endanger seafarers, weaken navigation safety, and disrupt global supply chains. In the case of MUKHTAR GASIMLI, the primary concern should be the safety of the crew before any political or commercial connections of the ship.
As of the time this news was prepared, there has been no verified statement regarding casualties or injuries on MUKHTAR GASIMLI, the outbreak of fire, loss of maneuverability, flooding, or environmental pollution. This does not mean that the crew is safe or that the ship has only sustained minor damage. Statements from the ship operator, the flag state, regional maritime rescue authorities, and Turkish authorities are awaited.
The definitive points that can be stated with current open sources are that the ship is MUKHTAR GASIMLI, it flies the flag of Guinea-Bissau, it is registered under IMO number 9311892, ISM management is conducted by Turkey-based Palmali Shipping and Agency, and it reported sailing from Samsun to Rostov in its last publicly available route. The initial reports of the ship being hit by a drone south of Kerch coincide with the 13-vessel operation announced by Ukraine on the same dates. However, the exact location of the attack, the number and type of drones used, the impact point on the ship, the extent of the damage, the nature of the cargo, and the condition of the crew have not yet been confirmed. In maritime journalism, fog sometimes rises not from the sea but from war propaganda; in this case, an official damage and crew report is needed for a definitive judgment.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
