Video: Container Feeder Damaged in Drone Attack in the Black Sea
This week, Turkish media reported an apparent drone attack on a small container feeder under way in the Black Sea, the latest in a series of back-and-forth strikes on merchant vessels linked to Russian and Ukrainian cargoes.
The small boxship Aurelia reportedly departed Novorossiysk and was under way in the Black Sea when a drone reportedly struck containers on deck on the starboard side. Aurelia diverted to a port of refuge and called at Samsun, Turkey for inspection and salvage.
Video footage of Aurelia's arrival was obtained by a ship spotter and shows at least three forty-foot boxes damaged by a blast on the starboard side, three bays forward of the wheelhouse. The footage also contains imagery obtained by the crew, which shows a minor fire in the outer row of the bay after impact. The fire appears to have been limited, as the visible damage was contained to a small area.
The damaged containers were offloaded at a pier in Samsun, and Aurelia remains at anchor outside of the port. No injuries were reported, and the ship herself appears to have sustained only limited damage. The damage to cargo (if the containers were laden) was not disclosed.
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An investigation into the cause of the incident is under way, according to Turkish authorities. As of yet, there have been no claims of responsibility for the strike.
AIS records for Aurelia show a gap in transmission between January 13-17, beginning shortly after the vessel's northbound exit from the Bosporus - as is common for ships transiting to the Russian sector of the Black Sea. Her last broadcast destination was Novorossiysk, with ETA listed as January 15. Past AIS data provided by Pole Star Global shows that her trading pattern has historically included frequent visits to the Novorossiysk region.
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Aurelia is a Turkish-owned container feeder built in 1998. The vessel has an extensive history of deficiencies: inspectors have recorded issues in every port state control inspection of the vessel since 2018, including more than three dozen in the past year alone.
Top image: Aurelia at Novorossiysk, Russia, 2020 (VesselFinder)
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