The Ukrainian Maritime Ports Administration published a video clip that it said documents the effects of an attack launched by Russian drones, on the night of June 22, on commercial ships heading to Ukrainian ports, in an incident that led to the death of a crew member of a cargo ship flying the Panama flag, according to Ukrainian officials.
The administration said that a fire broke out on board the cargo ship “VICTRESS” following the attack, causing severe damage to the ship. A Ukrainian official confirmed that the attack resulted in the death of a crew member, a 58-year-old Egyptian chef.
Read also
list of 3 itemsend of list
The administration indicated that other commercial ships flying the flags of Palau and Belize also suffered material damage as a result of the attack, and continued sailing despite the damage they sustained.
The Ukrainian Maritime Administration considered that the deliberate strikes on the merchant fleet and maritime infrastructure represented a violation of international law and a threat to the security of international navigation.
Vectris’ path before the attack
Navigational data monitored by the Al Jazeera Network’s open source unit via the MarineTraffic platform showed that the cargo ship “Vectris” had left the Turkish port of Korfez, heading to Romanian Sulina at the entrance to the Danube Delta, before Kiev announced that it had been subjected to a drone attack in the Black Sea.
Data indicate that the ship left the Turkish port on June 19, then crossed the Istanbul area and the Bosphorus Strait north towards the Black Sea, reaching an area near the Romanian Sulina.
The ship’s last announced signal on the Marine Traffic platform showed that it was in the northwestern Black Sea, near the entrance to the Danube Delta, at a distance of approximately 10 nautical miles from its announced destination, and its last update was more than 21 hours before the time of monitoring.
A ship linked to a Turkish company
The voyage data shows that the ship traveled about 271 nautical miles out of a total navigation path of 281 nautical miles, and its declared destination was Solina in Romania, a point close to the sea lanes leading to the ports of the Danube and the Black Sea.
The ship bears the International Maritime Identification Number 9030498 and flies the Panama flag. Marine Traffic data shows that the beneficial owner and commercial manager of the ship is Turkish company Rana Denizcelik Nakliyat Industrial and Trading Company, while the registered owner appears as Victress Shipping Limited in the Marshall Islands.
These data intersect with what the Ukrainian Navy announced regarding the Turkish connection to the ship, as it said that the ship was owned by a Turkish company, and that it had 9 sailors from Egypt, Turkey, and India on board.
Rescue operation in complex circumstances
For its part, the Ukrainian Navy announced that a large-scale fire broke out on board the “Vectris” after it was hit by a drone.
The Navy published pictures of the crew rescue operation, and said that its boats carried out the evacuation operation in complicated circumstances, amid the risk of the fire spreading aboard the ship.
The Navy confirmed that there were human losses among the crew members, and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction Affairs, Oleksiy Kuleba, said that the attack resulted in the death of one of the crew members, an Egyptian chef.
Kuliba considered that attacks on commercial ships and humanitarian sea lanes represent a direct threat to global food and economic security, calling on the international community to take a firm stance towards them.
A delicate passage at the entrance to the Danube
The Solina region is located at the entrance to the Danube Delta, and is close to the sea lanes that gained increasing importance during the war, after the Danube and Black Sea routes became a major artery for the movement of commercial ships linked to Ukraine.
Since the decline in the implementation of previous maritime agreements for grain export, the ports and corridors linked to the Danube have become a central part of Ukrainian export traffic, especially with regard to grain and commercial goods.
Therefore, any targeting near this area acquires additional sensitivity, as it does not only hit one ship, but rather raises broader concerns about the safety of sea lanes and the movement of commercial ships in the northwestern Black Sea.
Previous targeting of commercial ships
The targeting of “Vectris” comes as part of a series of incidents that Ukraine said included commercial ships and shipping lanes linked to its ports on the Black Sea.
Last May 29, the Ukrainian Navy announced that the cargo ship “ANT” (ANT) had been attacked by a drone while sailing from one of the ports of Odessa towards Turkey, which led to a fire breaking out and the injury of two members of its crew. The ship is owned by a Turkish entity and flies the Vanuatu flag.
This was preceded, last March, by the Ukrainian Maritime Ports Administration announcing that the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship BULL was damaged as a result of a drone attack near the port of Chornomorsk while it was transporting a shipment of corn, and it continued its voyage after the accident.
In December 2025, the Ukrainian Navy said that the Panamanian-flagged ships “Emmakris III” and “Captain Karam” were hit by drone attacks as they were entering a Ukrainian port to load wheat, resulting in the injury of civilians and damage to the two ships.
These incidents come in light of the continued targeting of ports, maritime infrastructure, and commercial lanes in the Black Sea, coinciding with the escalation of mutual attacks between Russia and Ukraine.
Kiev says that these attacks aim to undermine its sea lanes and disrupt the movement of exports, and the repeated incidents raise concerns about the security of commercial ships operating near Ukrainian ports or lanes linked to the Danube.
