Ukraine Accused of Attack on Turkish Bulker with One Seafarer Missing
Ukraine’s Defense Forces are being accused of an attack on a Turkish-owned bulker that has left one seafarer missing. There has been no official comment on the incident, but the family of the missing sailor posted online, and independent watchdog organizations pieced together some of the details.
The vessel Aroyat (18,315 dwt) was reported to have been in the vicinity of Novorossiysk, Russia, when it was struck on September 27. The vessel’s AIS signal shows its last port call in Georgia, but it is unclear if it had loaded in Russia or was approaching the port.
The vessel was hit by what it believed to be an aerial drone, which started a large fire in the accommodation block of the ship. Media reports say the ship had seven Egyptian, six Syrian, and three Turkish crewmembers.
Pictures posted online show extensive damage to the ship. The reports said it was disabled and towed back to Turkey. The ship is registered in Palau and has been operated for Turkish companies since 2022.
Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the dry bulk carrier Aroyat on Sept. 27 while it was heading to a Russian port, causing a fire in the stern. The vessel carried a crew of 7 Egyptian, 6 Syrian and 3 Turkish sailors, with casualties reported among them. In 2023, nearly three years… pic.twitter.com/wvmuMjUGNQ
— NOELREPORTS ???????? ???????? (@NOELreports) September 28, 2026
The family of the vessel’s Turkish second engineer posted online that he is missing and has not been heard from. They said he was not among the rescued crewmembers, but they held out hope he might be somewhere in Russia. They were asked if anyone knows anything or has seen the engineer. Furthermore, they said the authorities were promising a complete search of the vessel now that it is in Turkey.
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Turkish officials have protested to Ukraine on several occasions over the attacks on commercial vessels and the casualties among their seafarers. Ukraine is also quick to call out Russian attacks that injure or kill seafarers.
The irony of this attack is that this same ship came to the aid of Ukraine in 2023. It was the first large bulker to return to the port of Chornomorsk in September 2023 after the UN-sponsored humanitarian corridor collapsed. Ship operators, starting with the Aroyat and a much smaller ship, Resilient Africa, were the first to brave the situation and send ships on Ukraine’s corridor to restore exports.
