Drones Attacked A Turkish Cargo Ship In The Black Sea
- 4.08.2026, 13:09
There are casualties.
In the Black Sea, approximately 55 kilometers from Novorossiysk, a Turkish roll-on/roll-off dry cargo ship carrying fruits and vegetables from Samsun, Turkey, to Russia was struck by a drone on Monday afternoon. This was reported by the Turkish news agency İhlas Haber Ajansı (IHA).
According to published video footage, a fire broke out on the ship as a result of the attack, and four sailors were injured, including three Turkish citizens. The captain of the vessel Yalçın Şahin, which the publication identified as the “Nadhezna,” stated that six or seven Ukrainian drones struck the dry cargo ship. According to the captain, Russian warships were unable to approach the attacked vessel to provide assistance due to the ongoing drone attack—during which time the crew attempted to fight the fire on their own.
The General Directorate of Maritime Affairs of the Turkish Ministry of Transport confirmed the attack on the vessel “Nadhezna,” which had a crew of 22. According to preliminary data from the agency, the dry cargo ship’s living quarters and bow were damaged, and by the evening of August 3, the fire on board was still burning. The sailors were successfully evacuated to the port of Novorossiysk on Russian vessels. “According to preliminary information, three people may be in serious condition,” the Turkish agency stated.
According to data from public shipping databases, the attacked vessel, with IMO number 7702657, flies the Cameroonian flag and typically operates regular voyages between Samsun and Novorossiysk.
However, the Turkish Maritime Authority provided information that differs from that of IHA: according to its account, the *Nadezhda* was traveling from Novorossiysk to Samsun at the time of the attack, not in the opposite direction, and the attack itself occurred about 37 km from the Russian port.
The damaged 119-meter-long roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel, designed to transport cars, trucks, and containers, was built in Denmark back in 1978—at that time, the ship was named Amazon. The vessel, later renamed “Nadezhda,” had previously been accused by Ukraine of transporting grain from the occupied cities of Berdyansk, Kerch, and Sevastopol, leading to sanctions being imposed against it in November 2025.