The Black Sea, bordered by Europe, Asia, and West Asia has been a crucial trade corridor as it serves as a major route for the movement of grain oil, gas and other commodities, along with being very critical to global energy supplies and communications due to pipelines and fibre-optic cable running beneath its waters.
Ports, ships, oil infrastructure and logistics networks bordering Black Sea have been under constant fire by both Russia and Ukraine.
Conflict in the Black Sea
Hindustan Times relayed that Ukraine struck Russian “shadow fleet” tankers, Kairos, Virat and Dashan between April and May, while drone attacks targeted the Tuapse refinery and the Tuapse oil terminal, one of Russia’s major oil export hubs.
On Tuesday, a drone strike led to the suspension of oil loading at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s export terminal, following which, Russia has intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s deep-water ports and merchant shipping.
A missile strike, last week, on the Golden Leo, a cargo ship carrying corn from Odesa, killed four Indian crew members.
Three seafarers were injured when a Russian strike hit a propane-carrying vessel heading to Ukraine’s Reni port, on Tuesday.
Since the Black Sea is an important trade and security corridor, the repeated attacks have increased the risks for commercial shipping operating in the region and for international trade routes.
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International trade takes a massive blow
More than 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports are shipped through its three ports in the Odesa region, and repeated Russian strikes have put Ukraine’s grain trade under increasing strain.
The destruction of roughly one-third of Ukraine’s grain storage capacity has created bottlenecks in the export chain.
Before the escalation in strikes, Ukrainian ports handles about 6 million tonnes of cargo every month, but its capacity has dropped to around 4 million tonnes per month. About 6% of global wheat exports and 11% of global corn exports are handled by Ukraine, but the first week of July saw the fall of grain exports by 17%.
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The Black Sea is Ukraine’s chief gateway for agricultural exports, which is its largest source of foreign currency earnings. For Russia, it gives access to its key warm-water ports, making it central to military and commerical operations.
FAQs
1) Why is the Black Sea an important factor for both Russia and Ukraine?
The Black Sea is Ukraine’s chief gateway for agricultural exports, which is its largest source of foreign currency earnings. For Russia, it gives access to its key warm-water ports, making it central to military and commerical operations.
2) When did the Russia-Ukraine war start?
The Russia-Ukraine war started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea by Russia, after which a full scale invasion of Ukraine was launched by Russia in February 2022.
