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Russia Forces Turkish Ship to Stop and Inspect with Warning Shots

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Photo: Cargo ship SUKRU OKAN is operated under the flag of Palau, though affiliated with the Turkish port of Istanbul. Source: Sergiy Krivenko, marinetraffic
Photo: Cargo ship SUKRU OKAN is operated under the flag of Palau, though affiliated with the Turkish port of Istanbul. Source: Sergiy Krivenko, marinetraffic

Russia opened fire on a Turkish cargo ship in the Black Sea, which was headed to the Romanian port of Sulina, though Russian sources insisted it was headed for the Ukrainian port of Izmail. The shooting took place from an automatic gun on board a Russian military ship. An inspection team was deployed to the Turkish vessel from a military helicopter. Russia justifies its forceful actions by claiming that the ship did not respond to warnings to stop. The incident occurred in neutral waters in the western part of the Black Sea. The Turkish ship is affiliated with Istanbul but operates under a "convenient flag" - the flag of the offshore state of Palau.

On August 13, a Russian military ship fired a warning shot from an automatic gun at a dry cargo ship flying the Palau flag, which was heading from the Greek port of Chalkis to the Romanian port of Sulina in the southwestern part of the Black Sea. A forced inspection of the ship was also conducted. This was officially reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Moscow's justification for aggressive actions stems from its own statement that all ships heading to Ukrainian waters are considered by Russia to have the potential to carry military cargo.

This statement was made in mid-July after Russia canceled a grain agreement negotiated through the UN. This agreement ensured Ukraine's ability to supply its agricultural products to the global market through Black Sea ports.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the patrol ship "Vasyl Bykov," under the Russian Navy flag, fired from an automatic gun at the ship "Sukru Okan" after the captain of the cargo ship failed to respond to a request to stop for inspection. As a result of the warning shots, the ship was forced to stop. Russian military personnel boarded the ship for inspection using a Ka-29 helicopter.

As announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the ship "Sukru Okan" was heading towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail. However, data from the Marinetraffic maritime traffic monitoring service indicates that the ship was heading from the Greek port of Chalkis to the port of Sulina (Romania, located 4 km from the border with Ukraine, at the mouth of the Danube River). This incident essentially involves aggressive actions against a maritime vessel moving from one NATO country to another NATO country, and which is affiliated with a port of a third NATO country. At the time of writing this article, the ship moved in Romanian territorial waters. The expected arrival time at the port of Sulina is 12:00 noon on August 14.

The ship SUKRU OKAN, built in 1989, has a cargo capacity of 2155 tons, a length of 86 meters, and a width of 14 meters. It is a not big vessel designed for transporting bulk cargo between relatively shallow ports.

The incident involving the shooting of the Turkish trading ship suggests that Russia is effectively blockading Ukrainian ports. This blockade poses a threat to the supply chains of grain, sunflower seeds, and sunflower oil from Ukraine to the global markets.

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