Greece warns shipping fleet of risks after Black Sea drone attacks

ATHENS, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Greece has warned its shipping fleet to review their security measures when sailing to Russian Black Sea ports after drone attacks on two Greek-operated tankers this week, according to shipping ministry advisories.

Drones struck two oil tankers on Tuesday, including one chartered by U.S. oil major Chevron, as they sailed toward a Black Sea terminal on Russia’s Black Sea coast.

Greek-operated ships are among the world’s largest fleets of tankers and are pivotal for trade across the Black Sea region, whose waters are shared by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey, as well as warring Russia and Ukraine.

“It is recommended that the security managers of shipping companies, the masters and the security officers of Greek ships proceed with an updated threat assessment for commercial ships located in the Black Sea and the maritime areas close to it,” the shipping ministry said in one of the documents seen by Reuters that were issued after the attacks.

War insurance costs for ships sailing to the Black Sea have jumped this week, reflecting the worsening risk environment.

One of the tankers targeted on Tuesday was Matilda, which was managed by Greece’s Thenamaris and hit by two drones.

While there were no injuries or serious damage to the vessel, a Thenamaris official said that the company had since then stepped up additional precautionary security measures and advised crew on their vessels to increase vigilance and avoid unnecessary exposure, mainly movement on the deck.

The ministry referred shipping companies to an earlier document published in April 2022 that recommended that additional protective security measures be maintained for a certain period as a result of increased risk for the Russian Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk, Taman, Tuapse and Kavkaz.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou, Yannis Souliotis and Jonathan Saul; editing by Mark Heinrich)