Black Sea: Turkey proposes a moratorium on attacks on merchant ships, with separate corridors for Russia and Ukraine

Turkey is seeking a deal to stop attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea, and Russia and Ukraine are considering a Turkish draft that would extend protection beyond grain cargoes. According to Hürriyet Daily News, citing Turkish media reports, the proposed moratorium builds on the earlier Black Sea grain agreement but would cover all civilian commercial vessels.

Since January, 73 commercial ships have been attacked in the Black Sea, 52 of them linked to Turkey. Implementation of the plan depends on Moscow and Kyiv agreeing, and consultations are continuing. The EU has also called for a Black Sea grain arrangement and a pause in attacks.

Two corridors to the Bosphorus

Under the proposal, as reported, Ukrainian ships would follow the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria toward the Bosphorus, while Russian ships would travel along the coasts of Georgia and Turkey. Ukraine has reportedly raised reservations about dual-use cargoes, such as iron ore.

The attacks have reached the waters of NATO member states. On October 5 a ship carrying Ukrainian grain sank in Romania’s exclusive economic zone with two dead, and in the same period drones hit two merchant ships in Bulgaria’s EEZ.

Fidan: “Not a new front”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned on October 8 that the growing attacks on civilian ships threaten lives, property, navigation and the environment. “We must never allow the Black Sea to become a new front in the conflict,” he told a news conference in Ankara. He said Turkey had warned both sides and had presented proposals, and that the ships hit included Turkish-flagged vessels, vessels under Turkish ownership and ships with Turkish crew members. Fidan also said that difficulties in getting grain to international markets were creating food security problems in several countries, particularly in Africa.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised the issue with Vladimir Putin in a telephone call on October 7. According to Turkey’s Communications Directorate, as reported by TRT World, Erdoğan stressed the importance of safe navigation in the Black Sea and reiterated that Ankara is ready to help restore direct contacts between Russia and Ukraine. Erdoğan had discussed the matter with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on September 23. Turkey, which controls the Straits under the Montreux Convention, is thus trying to play again the mediating role it had in the 2022 grain deal.