Russia has attacked five merchant vessels in Ukrainian ports over the past week and a half.
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In three cases, there were no casualties. 9 people were killed in the attack on a container ship at the end of last week.
On Monday, October 14th, two more vessels were damaged: NS Moon sailing under the flag of Belize and OPTIMA sailing under the flag of Palau. OPTIMA was previously under ballistic attack a few days ago.
Attacks on vessels and infrastructure put shipping in the Black Sea region at risk. The threat of higher freight and insurance rates for ships calling at Black Sea ports is another outcome of the attacks.
Currently, the range of insurance coverage for such vessels is from 0.75 to 1% of the vessel’s value. The freight brokers surveyed report that there has been no significant increase so far. However, continued attacks on merchant ships could change the situation.
Why is Russia attacking merchant ships? Pavlo Martyshev suggests that the purpose is to weaken the competitiveness of Ukrainian agricultural products on the global market.
That report was powered by Latifundist Media, with USAID support provided through Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities (AGRO) Activity implemented in Ukraine by Chemonics International. For more information, visit their website or follow them on social media.
