Black Sea shipping risks surge as Russia defies India over deaths
Russia's refusal to halt attacks on commercial vessels despite Indian protests over the deaths of its sailors escalates the security threat to Black Sea maritime trade.
Russia has vowed to continue attacking commercial ships in the Black Sea, dismissing a rare diplomatic protest from India after a missile strike killed four of its sailors. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian forces would keep targeting vessels suspected of transporting weapons for Ukraine.
The dispute centres on the MV Golden Leo, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship struck by three cruise missiles as it left Ukraine's Odesa port on Sunday. The Ukrainian navy attributed the attack to Russia, noting that at least 10 crew members from India and Syria died.
New Delhi summoned Russian envoy Vladimir Ladanov to condemn the strike, with the foreign ministry stating that killing civilians was “unacceptable” and that it opposed any impediment to freedom of navigation. Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar later said he conveyed “strong concerns” to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Mr Peskov defended the strike by claiming without evidence that the vessel was “transporting ammunition” or other military goods. “Most importantly, our armed forces are striking – and will continue to strike – vessels involved in transporting ammunition, weapons, and so on for the purposes of the Kyiv regime," he said.
For European shippers and insurers, Moscow's uncompromising stance signals a sustained threat to one of the continent's key maritime corridors. The Black Sea remains essential for Ukrainian agricultural and commodity exports, and the explicit targeting of commercial vessels increases the likelihood of surging insurance premiums and disrupted supply chains.
The incident is part of a broader escalation of naval warfare in the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. Ukraine has systematically targeted Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers, which are used to evade international sanctions on Moscow's energy exports. Russia has responded by increasing missile strikes on ports and commercial traffic, partly in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities that have caused domestic fuel shortages.
India's public reproach is highly unusual given its historically close ties with Moscow, particularly its reliance on Russian military hardware and discounted oil. New Delhi has faced persistent pressure from Washington to reduce its Russian energy purchases, which the US argues help fund the war.
The deaths add to mounting safety concerns for India's massive maritime workforce. With over 300,000 Indian seafarers employed globally, the country is one of the largest suppliers of merchant vessel crews. At least 10 Indian sailors have also been killed recently in separate attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, raising broader questions about civilian crewing risks in global conflict zones.
